Six-nations talks begin on N. Korea nuclear row

After months of diplomacy, the United States, North Korea and four other countries convened an extraordinary six-way meeting today to resolve a dispute over the North’s nuclear programme that has alarmed the entire region.

Around a vast hexagonal table behind the high brick walls of Beijing’s state guest house of China, the host country and Pyongyang’s only remaining major ally, diplomats shook hands and crisply got down to business.

“A warm welcome to you all,” Chinese vice foreign minister Wang Yi told the assembled diplomats before the meeting was closed to reporters. “I am very happy the six countries are all here.”

Russia, Japan and South Korea are also participating. All have a direct stake in both the region in general and the North’s nuclear programme in particular. China called for a “calm and patient attitude” for the meetings.

The United States says North Korea must shut down its nuclear programme immediately, while Pyongyang demands guarantees of security and economic aid. US assistant secretary of state James Kelly and North Korean deputy foreign minister Kim Yong Il were among those shaking hands before the talks began, and then their delegations were seated next to each other for the meeting.

North Korea’s envoys wore tiny metal badges depicting Kim Il Sung, their late “Great Leader” and the father of current President Kim Jong Il.

US officials say they believe North Korea has one or two nuclear weapons, and experts believe it could produce five to six more in a few months. The North has withdrawn from key international agreements in recent months, including the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

The talks were expected to continue until Friday.

The participants’ interests go beyond simply wanting to keep the isolated communist North from becoming a nuclear threat. South Korea wants to clear an obstruction from its policy of reconciliation with Pyongyang. Japan seeks progress on the issue of Japanese citizens kidnapped by the North during the Cold War.

China hopes to avoid being dragged into a conflict between its longtime ally, North Korea, and a vital trading partner, the United States. The North, Pyongyang, faced with economic collapse, wants security guarantees and more food and humanitarian aid.

“We welcome the multinational talks,” said US president George Bush’s spokeswoman Claire Buchan. “The president has always believed that this is a multilateral problem that requires a multilateral solution.”

In October, according to the United States, North Korea acknowledged a secret nuclear programme, beginning the standoff and war of words that led to this week’s talks. Bush already was wary of North Korea, calling it in a January 2002 speech part of an “axis of evil”.

Pyongyang insists Washington must change its “hostile policy” for the talks to produce any results.

Otherwise, it said last week: “We will never give up nuclear deterrent force and settle accounts with the aggressors.”

Today, North Korea repeated its demand for a non-aggression treaty from the United States, saying it would not give up its “nuclear deterrent force” for anything less than that.

The United States “should change its policy towards (North Korea) and make clear a willingness to sign a non-aggression treaty,” said Rodong Sinmun, the North’s official newspaper. The commentary was carried by KCNA, the North’s official news agency, and was monitored by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

In Seoul, diplomats from the two Koreas were holding three days of economic talks. The South’s delegation told North Korean negotiators that a “prompt resolution to the nuclear issue through dialogue is necessary to foster a good environment for inter-Korean economic projects”, Cho Myong-gyun, a spokesman, was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.

China’s Wang said before the meeting that participating nations should “adopt a calm and patient attitude, respect each other, conduct consultations on an equal footing, seek common grounds, and reduce disputes”. He said progress was pivotal to Chinese security.

China has said repeatedly that it advocates a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. Lately it has warned the United States not to be heavy-handed in its dealings with North Korea.