Six-party talks on North Korea to resume Sept. 13
(AP)
BEIJING - Talks with North Korea on dismantling its nuclear program will resume next week, China said on Thursday, but Pyongyang raised a possible obstacle to progress by renewing its demands for the withdrawal of US troops from the Korean Peninsula as a sign of good faith.
Talks are due to resume on Tuesday, said Qin Gang, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Speaking at a regular news briefing, he appealed to all sides to be Òflexible and practicalÓ in trying to reach a settlement to the long-running dispute.
The six-nation talks recessed Aug. 7 after the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia failed to agree on a statement of principles despite 13 days of negotiations.
The main sticking point then was North KoreaÕs insistence on its right to a civilian nuclear program. Washington says Pyongyang shouldnÕt be allowed any nuclear program, peaceful or otherwise, because of its record of broken promises.
The talks were meant to resume in Beijing last week, but North Korea postponed that, citing US-South Korean military exercises that were under way and WashingtonÕs appointment of a special envoy on North KoreaÕs human rights.
ÒThe path to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula is torturous and complicated,Ó Qin said. ÒWe canÕt resolve all the questions in just a few rounds of talks, but we should not be pessimistic about the process.Ó
Hours before ChinaÕs announcement, North Korea demanded that the United States withdraw its troops from South Korea.
Pyongyang has used what it says is a US threat to justify its nuclear weapons program. North Korea says it canÕt dismantle its nuclear program unless the United States drops its Òhostile policy.Ó
The United States says it has no intention of invading North Korea.
The nuclear row broke out in late 2002 after US officials said the North admitted having a secret nuclear program in violation of an earlier deal to abandon its weapons ambitions. The two Koreas technically remain in a state of war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
The Rodong Sinmun, the NorthÕs main newspaper, claimed the United States is driving a Òfire cloud of warÓ over the Korean Peninsula by positioning state-of-the-art military hardware in the South and preparing for a pre-emptive nuclear attack against the North.
ÒIf it is true that the US has no intention to invade and has the stance to ensure peace on the Korean Peninsula and improve the relations with (North Korea), it should prove it in practice by making a decision for the withdrawal of its troops without delay,Ó the newspaper said in a commentary carried by the NorthÕs official Korean Central News Agency.
Thursday marked what North Korea called the 60th anniversary of US troopsÕ occupation of South Korea. Korea was divided after its liberation from JapanÕs colonial rule at the end of World War II in 1945, with US forces stationed in the South and Soviet forces in the North.
About 32,500 American troops are now stationed in the South under a mutual defense treaty as a deterrent against threats from the North.
But the communist state said a recent US-South Korean military exercise proved Washington was planning an invasion. The 12-day drill that ended this month was largely a computer-simulated war game that US and South Korean officials say is purely defensive.
© 2005 Khaleej Times