Direct talks with Pyongyang signal flexibility: Expert

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By Peng Kuang in Beijing, AP in Washington (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-14 06:55

The latest proposal by Washington to hold direct bilateral talks with Pyongyang signals more flexibility in the United States' policy toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Chinese experts said Sunday.

But they noted that such negotiations would still be held under the framework of the Six-Party Talks.

The US said on Friday it was prepared to accept the DPRK's offer for direct talks in an effort to persuade it to return to stalled international nuclear disarmament negotiations.

US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters that no decision has been made on when or where such a meeting would happen.

He insisted that there has been no shift from previous US statements that Washington would only meet with the DPRK as part of the six-nation nuclear negotiating process.

The DPRK pulled out of the talks in April to protest international criticism of its rocket launch.

"If a bilateral discussion will lead us back to a six-party process, then why would we not do that?" Crowley said.

Wang Fan, a professor at the Foreign Affairs University, called the US proposal "a flexible move" in response to the DPRK's earlier call for direct talks.

But he said the US policy toward Pyongyang has been consistent. "On the one hand it is tightening sanctions, on the other hand it opens a door to negotiations."

Wang said what is important now is whether both sides can find common ground if they engage in direct talks.

The DPRK wants to talk about a guarantee of its security and normalization of relations, while the US wants the DPRK to abandon its nuclear program and commit to nuclear nonproliferation.

"These issues cannot be resolved without the six-party framework," Wang said.

Yang Xiyu, an expert on the DPRK at the China Institute of International Studies, said the US' willingness to talk face to face with the DPRK reflects some sort of "loosening" in its tough stance toward the country.

This will be "conducive to regional stability" and help the stalled six-nation talks to resume, he said. He brushed aside claims that China's role will be weakened if the US and the DPRK talk directly.

"China has always been encouraging the two nations to engage in direct talks to resolve their differences peacefully. The unique role China has played will not be weakened," he said.

Yuan Peng, head of the institute of US studies affiliated to China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, agreed that the US has "softened" its stance somewhat on DPRK, adding that the normalization of US-DPRK relations will be vital for the final settlement of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

But he said the other four parties should be informed of any progress in the US-DPRK direct talks so that they can communicate and coordinate within the Six-Party framework.

Crowley said consultations among US President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other world leaders about a possible US-DPRK meeting could happen at United Nations meetings later this month.

Earlier this month, the US special envoy for DPRK met in Asia with officials from Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo to discuss Six-Party Talks. Stephen Bosworth said that Washington is open to bilateral meetings with Pyongyang, but not as a substitute for multilateral talks.

Preparing for third test?

In a related development, Republic of Korea officials declined comment yesterday on reports that DPRK leader Kim Jong-il has called for a third nuclear test to protest UN sanctions.

Open Radio of North Korea, a Seoul-based rights group, quoting unnamed Pyongyang sources, said last week that Kim had told military and ruling party officials to prepare for a new test.

The DPRK conducted a first such test in 2006 and a second in May.

Meanwhile, the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency said yesterday that during a recent visit to an undisclosed naval unit Kim praised his forces as "an iron wall" defending the country.

"Our socialist motherland will always remain an invulnerable fortress and eternally prosper as the matchless great army is standing guard over the nation's defense line as an iron wall," Kim said.

AFP contributed to the story