Disarmament Diplomacy

Issue No. 59, July - August 2001

News Review

No Progress Reported after US Offer to Resume N. Korea Talks

US Secretary of State Colin Powell is urging North Korea to respond positively to President Bush's June 6 offer of talks between the two sides on a range of non-proliferation and military security issues. For its part, North Korea is accusing the US of seeking arbitrary control of the talks agenda. The only direct contact between the two sides in the period under review was a brief meeting on July 13 between North Korean officials at the UN and Edward Dong, Director of the State Department's Office of Korean Affairs. Although details were not provided, a senior US official stated that the meeting had been requested by the North Korean side to seek clarification of the June 6 announcement.

Speaking in Seoul on July 27, Powell stated: "We are waiting for the North Korean response to our overtures. We can meet at a time and a place [of their choosing]... We have no preconditions." However, on August 8, a North Korean Foreign Ministry statement repeated: "We can never accept the agenda items of the talks unilaterally raised by the US out of its intention to disarm the DPRK and stifle it, and [we] will not respond to the talks with the US before it withdraw the items... We make it clear once again that the DPRK-US dialogue has not yet been resumed entirely because the US side has not cleared the DPRK, the dialogue partner, of its worries..." The statement concluded: "The resumption of the...dialogue will be possible when the present US administration drops its anachronistic mode of thinking that belonged to the Cold War era and [when] its stand is, at least, identical to the stand taken by the Clinton administration in its last period."

Referring to the contentious 'items', State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher told reporters on August 8: "We have made quite clear a number of subjects that we do wish to discuss, such as implementation of the Agreed Framework, verifiable constraints on the missile programmes, and a less-threatening conventional military posture on the peninsular. ... So those remain topics that we want to discuss. I'm sure the North Koreans have topics they would like to discuss and we're prepared to meet any time..." Earlier (July 3), a senior administration official had been quoted in the New York Times emphasising Washington's relaxed attitude to the timing, if not the substance, of the talks: "We need to see some progress in all areas. We are prepared to wait. We don't feel any urgency to provide goodies to them in response to their rhetoric or threats."

In late July and early August, North Korean President Kim Jong-il visited Russia for discussions embracing non-proliferation issues. Commenting on the visit, Powell suggested (July 27): "I think it...would be very useful if President Putin and other Russian leaders would point out to Chairman Kim the importance of resuming discussions with the United States."

Travelling through Russia by train, President Kim told reporters in Ussurisk on July 26: "The American fuss over the 'missile threat' from our country is completely groundless. It is no more than sophistry aimed at concealing the ambitions of those seeking to establish their global domination." In Moscow on August 4, Presidents Kim and Putin issued a joint declaration stating:

"Calling to attention [to the fact] that the 1972 ABM Treaty is the cornerstone of strategic stability and the basis for further reductions in strategic offensive weapons, the leaders of both countries expressed decisiveness in the new century to cooperate in all possible ways for the strengthening of international security. The Korean side confirmed that the missile programme of the DPRK is of a peaceful nature and therefore does not pose a threat to any country that respects the sovereignty of the DPRK."

Reports: US toughens terms for talks with North Korea, New York Times, July 3; US, North Koreans talk in New York, Associated Press, July 13; N. Korea's Kim in Russia, slams US missile fears, Reuters, July 26; Powell - US wants N. Korea talks, Associated Press, July 27; Powell presses to resume talks with North Korea, New York Times, July 27; Russia-N. Korea declaration excerpt, Associated Press, August 4; North Korea blames US for stalled relations, Reuters, August 8.