From Mutter's RE North Korea:
Downer's North Korea mission fails
By Catherine Armitage
August 19, 2004
THE international effort to end the North Korean nuclear crisis appears at risk of unravelling, despite Foreign Minister Alexander Downer's high-profile mission to the secretive Stalinist state.
North Korea declined to commit to even attending the next round of scheduled six-nation talks on nuclear disarmament, and gave Mr Downer only negative messages to convey to the US.
Mr Downer emerged from four hours of talks with North Korean counterpart Paek Nam-Sun and National Assembly president Kim Yong Nam declaring his much-hyped mission to Pyongyang to be "highly productive" and the North Koreans "interested and reflective".
But there appeared to be no positive outcomes.
Mr Downer said it "remains to be seen" whether the North will attend the next round of six-nation talks in Beijing, which had been scheduled for September or October.
He said it was disappointing that the North Koreans still had not committed to attending a working-level technical meeting that was meant to take place before the formal talks. "But they have not said they will not attend," he said.
And the North Koreans remained "pretty negative" about a June deal offered by the US, asking him to "relay messages about areas of disagreement".
The crisis erupted two years ago when the US said Pyongyang had admitted to conducting a secret nuclear program in contravention of international agreements.
It has since denied the admission, thrown out United Nations nuclear weapons inspectors, withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and threatened to launch a nuclear attack.
After a year of glacial progress in talks involving South Korea, Japan, Russia and China, as well as North Korea and the US, Washington at the most recent session in June proposed that Pyongyang commit to dismantling its nuclear facilities and freeze their development within three months, after which it would receive US aid.
But the North is thought to be stalling in the hope of a better offer if US President George W. Bush loses November's presidential election. Democratic candidate John Kerry has criticised Mr Bush's insistence on multi-nation talks, raising the prospect that he would negotiate with North Korea one-on-one.
Mr Downer urged North Korea to focus on its "common elements" with the US position: a nuclear freeze and eventual dismantling of nuclear programs, economic assistance, lifting of sanctions and a security guarantee.
The Australian
news.com.au/common/story_...01,00.html
1:05 pm today, per KDWN Radio, Las Vegas Traffic News.
Sahara and Las Vegas Blvd in Las Vegas, is closed.
suspicious package is the cause.
Unknown on all details.
Jim Dallas, show host repeated the info, still nothing known.