Associated Press:
WASHINGTON - The resumed six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program will end only with a firm commitment that Kim Jong Il's government is scrapping the program, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday.
Only in that context, she said, will the negotiators talk about economic and energy aid to North Korea and increased political contact that eventually could lead to full relations between the United States and the communist-led country.
What I found interesting was Rice's choice of words.
"I don't think anyone would ask us that we set a firm deadline by which, if we cannot do this, then the talks end," Rice told reporters after meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. "I do think that there is an expectation in the international community that these talks are not for the sake of talks."
I posted sunday about a dispute between N.Korea and Japan that may be putting the resumption of talks at risk. Rice's comment echoes concerns I reported from Shoichi Nakagawa, chairman of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party's policy research council.
Associated Press:
"It's fine if North Korea can bring some contribution to peace, but simply starting talks is not meaningful," Nakagawa said on a morning talk show carried by the public broadcaster NHK.
I'm just guessing here (it's an educated guess), but it sounds like N.Korea's onboard now and Japan's the holdout. Whether or not Japan comes to the table is still an open question -- to my mind, at least.
The US State Dept. has been downplaying the Japan/N.Korea dispute, which stems from a medical supply smuggling operation in Japan by a pro-Pyongyang group. Japan has begun a crackdown on the group, which is likely to cause a healthcare crisis among N.Korean party leaders. In fact, it's been downplayed to the point that it's not being reported in the US.
It's likely that Rice and State hope to force Japan to the talks by creating a global expectation of their attendance.
Tags: news | politics | international | diplomacy | Japan | North Korea | nuclear | Condoleeza Rice
