Posted on 10/19/2004 4:02:22 PM PDT by Shermy
BEIJING - North Korea's No. 2 leader has told China that his country still regards six-nation talks on the dispute over its nuclear program as the best way to reach a solution, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Tuesday.
Chinese leaders were lobbying Kim Yong Nam, who arrived in Beijing Monday on an official visit, to restart stalled talks on U.S. demands for his country to give up its nuclear ambitions. Participants missed a September deadline for a new round because North Korea refused to take part.
On Monday, Kim met his Chinese counterpart, Wu Bangguo, who told him that a settlement was the "common wish" of the international community.
Kim responded "in the strictest terms that the position of (North Korea) concerning the six-party talks is unchanged — that is, to solve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula through the six-party talks," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said at a regular briefing.
China, which organized the nuclear talks, has been leading efforts to persuade the North to rejoin the negotiations, which also include Japan, South Korea and Russia. Beijing's ambassador for the nuclear dispute, Ning Fukui, met with senior U.S. officials in Washington last week.
"It is a very important theme at the moment," Zhang said. "The various parties believe that the six-party talks is the best way to solve the nuclear issue."
Also Tuesday, Kim toured a model village promoting capitalist-style reforms that China wants its allies in North Korea to adopt.
Beijing is eager for the North to settle the dispute and to revive its decrepit centrally planned economy, reducing the danger of political instability and cutting the flow of North Korean asylum-seekers fleeing poverty and famine. The North has allowed modest reforms such as farmers' markets, but China wants faster change.
Hancunhe, a village of tidy, two-story homes on the outskirts of Beijing, is said to embody the spirit of reforms that have driven China's two-decade-old economic boom. Kim visited a museum about reform, private homes and a vegetable garden.
As he left, Kim congratulated village leaders on their "great contributions" to China. "This place is representative of China's future development," he wrote in a guest book, according to a translation by a reporter for North Korea's news agency.
Kim met Chinese President Hu Jintao later Tuesday.
The North wants aid and security guarantees in exchange for giving up its nuclear program. Japan and South Korea have offered fuel, but it isn't clear whether that would satisfy the North, which is believed to be hoping for diplomatic relations with Washington.
Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) is due to visit Japan, China and South Korea this weekend in a possible attempt to arrange a new round of talks. But it appears increasingly unlikely that it will take place before the United States holds its presidential election in November.
China's chief envoy for the nuclear dispute visited South Korea last week to discuss ways to restart the talks and also traveled to Washington to meet senior U.S. officials.
Kim is head of the Presidium of North Korea's parliament, second in line behind North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Kim Yong Nam acts as his country's ceremonial head of state.
Ping.
Hey J f'n K....nuance this
No mention of the administration's insistance on multinational talks that got the ball rolling.
And Kerry's preference for bilateral talks.
Kim Jong Il must have seen todays Polls
Why, he's a dangerous cowboy!
"...Beijing has played host to three rounds of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions. At the last round in June, China, the United States, Russia, Japan and North and South Korea agreed to meet in September, but those talks never took place."Unfortunately, I don't have a good crystal ball regarding North Korea. But it appears that since we've only got 22 days I think until our election, that the North Koreans don't have much interest in holding talks before then," U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told reporters on Tuesday.
"I think this is a miscalculation on their part," Armitage said during a two-day visit to meet Japanese officials and attend an international donors' conference on Iraq.
Analysts say Pyongyang is stalling to see who wins the U.S. presidential election on November 2 because it believes the Democratic contender, Senator John Kerry, will be easier to deal with than President George W. Bush.
Kerry has said he would like to initiate bilateral talks with North Korea alongside the six-way discussions. China has voiced no view on that position. ..."
"China has voiced no view on that position" - now they have, twisting NK's arm. A blow to Kerry's incoherent oppositionism on an issue he should have avoided. Maybe his unilateral plan was influenced by Clinton losers Albright and Rand Beers who dreamed of resurrecting and correcting their failed policies.
"Kim Jong Il must have seen todays Polls"
IMO China twisted NK's arm. And China saw Debate no. 2 when Bush said effectively "China stays in."
What "still?" They were insisting on TWO-party negotiations with the U.S. alone or no talks at all not so very long ago. Why should they suddenly decide to include the Chinese? Other than several hundred thousand troops on the border, that is...
Well don't tell effin it will ruin his week.
-what I was thinking.
Kerry wanted to unilaterally have two-way talks with that Kerryan dictator. Another Kerry foriegn policy that preemptively failed.
He's so ronery.
preemptively failed.
Kimmy must have seen "Team America World Police"
Remember during the run-up to the war in Iraq, the Dems displayed their manhood by demanding war against North Korea.
I kept saying, this isn't Reagan's army where we could take on all comers at once. This the leaner, more efficient, just-in-time army of the new millenium; "we're with a client now, please take a number and we'll be with you directly."
Its funny though, since we pulled Saddam out of his hole, Pyongyang has stopped demanding biparty talks, they've stopped threatening to go to war, in fact according to this article, they've preferred multi-talks all along. "North Korea's No. 2 leader has told China that his country still regards six-nation talks on the dispute over its nuclear program as the best way to reach a solution... "
Since when? Since now.
This may be a dig at Bush, remember Bush said, "The minute we have bilateral talks, the six-party talks will unwind. That's exactly what Kim Jong Il wants." (16)
also the newsmax reports of state teleivion lauding Kerry...
We should watch foreign governments subtubly try and influence the election in the next 2 weeks.
...this is BS! ...he only wants more time. :|
"I'm so ronery, so ronery, so ronery, so ronery..."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.