Text Fwd: U.S. repeats call on N. Korea to return to 6-way talks: State Dept

Yonhap News
2009/08/08 04:30 KST
U.S. repeats call on N. Korea to return to 6-way talks: State Dept.
By Hwang Doo-hyong

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 (Yonhap) -- The United States Friday renewed its call for North Korea to return to multinational talks on its denucleaization, saying nothing has changed in the U.S. position since ex-President Bill Clinton's trip to Pyongyang.

"Our policy remains the same with regard to North Korea," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said. "The ball is in the North's court. It needs to come back to the six-party framework, so that we can continue on the path toward a denuclearized Korean Peninsula."

Wood was trying to quell growing optimism that the landmark trip by Clinton might lead to a breakthrough in the negotiations over North Korea's nuclear programs, stalled after its recent nuclear and missile tests.

Clinton had a rare three-hour meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il Tuesday to discuss a variety of issues and, according to Pyongyang, conveyed a "verbal message" from U.S. President Barack Obama.

The White House has denied the delivery of any such message, categorizing the trip as a "private mission" to win the release of two American journalists held in North Korea since March for illegally entering the North on a reporting tour.

National Security Adviser James Jones, however, expressed the hope that the trip will help produce a breakthrough in the deadlocked talks.

"And we certainly hope it could lead to other good things, but we won't know that for a while," Jones told reporters Thursday. "This was a -- who knows where the future will lead ?"

Reports indicate that Kim Jong-il proposed a "grand deal" to Obama through the former U.S. president, whom Kim had reportedly chosen as the only emissary who could help release the journalists.

Clinton will likely meet with Obama in the coming days to brief him about the substance of the conversation he had with the reclusive communist leader and offer his first-hand impression of Kim, who is said to have suffered a stroke last summer. He is also rumored to have pancreatic cancer.

Clinton spoke to Jones Wednesday by phone, according to the White House.

Wood said that scheduling is still under way for Obama's meeting with Clinton.

The North's nuclear and missile tests in recent months invited international sanctions, which led the regime to boycott the six-party talks, citing "U.S. hostility," but also to demand bilateral talks with Washington.

The U.S. insists any bilateral talks be held within the six-party framework.

Pyongyang's recent provocations are seen as an attempt to facilitate an unprecedented third generation power transition to Kim Jong-Il's third and youngest son, Jong-un, 26.

Kim's lengthy meeting with Clinton apparently eased concerns over his health.

South Korean and U.S. officials have said they were discussing a "comprehensive package" for a possible breakaway from a six-party deal on the North's denuclearization that calls for action for action in the process of nuclear dismantlement by the reclusive communist state.

Critics have said North Korea has used the six-party deal as a way to buy time over the past six years for its eventual nuclear armament.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently reiterated the principles of the six-party deal by promising that "full normalization of relations, a permanent peace regime, and significant energy and economic assistance are all possible in the context of full and verifiable denuclearization."

hdh@yna.co.kr

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