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No headway in six-party N. Korean talks
(outlookindia.com)
Updated: 2005-11-10 00:04
The six-party talks on the Korean nuclear issue made scant progress on the
second day here today with serious differences reported between Cold War rivals
United States and North Korea on a roadmap to dismantle Pyongyang's atomic
weapons programmes.
North Korea must halt its nuclear weapons programme immediately to show that
Pyongyang is taking the six-way negotiations seriously, the chief US negotiator
Christopher Hill said on the second day of six-party talks here.
"You know how you build up trust? You live up to the agreement ... You can
build up trust through actions," Hill, also US Assistant Secretary of State for
East Asian and Pacific Affairs told reporters.
"The time to stop that reprocessing, the time to stop the reactor, is now,"
he said, referring to the North Korea's reactivated nuclear plant at Yongbyon.
The United States alleges that Yongbyon plant continues to operate since the
September 19 Joint Statement, in which North Korea agreed to dismantle its
nuclear programmes in exchange for aid and security guarantees.
Hosts, China said no agreement has been reached how to move ahead on
implementing the September 21 Joint Statement, which was issued by all the six
nations - the United States, North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia.
"Up to now, we have not reached a general consensus on the general
framework," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters while
noting that various sides held bilateral meetings as well as a plenary session
today.
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