U.S. and North Korea Face Off as Nuclear Talks Open

By Jack Kim and Teruaki Ueno

BEIJING — The United States and North Korea squared off on Wednesday as six-party talks on the North’s nuclear programs opened, signaling a long road toward implementing a landmark disarmament deal agreed in September.

Chief U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill restated Washington’s position that Pyongyang could not receive the reward of a light-water reactor for atomic energy until it had disarmed and opened to nuclear inspectors.

"Our delegation has made very clear that first they have got to disarm, create a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, and once they are back in the NPT (Non-proliferation Treaty) … at an appropriate time we will have discussions on the subject of a light-water reactor," he told reporters.

South Korea, China, Japan and Russia are also taking part in the talks, intended to flesh out a basic accord struck at the last round in September, but their success hinges on overcoming distrust between the United States and North Korea.

In Washington, U.S. President George W. Bush restated concerns about North Korea’s human rights record, but urged patience at the talks and said the main goal was ending the North’s nuclear weapons ambitions.

The last round was marked by increased one-on-one contact between the U.S. and North Korea that was seen as key to reaching the September agreement.

But on Wednesday, Pyongyang said Washington could not be trusted, despite its affirmation at the last round it would not invade.

"The U.S. words do not agree with its deeds at all," said a commentary in Rodong Sinmun, the North’s communist party paper.

"The U.S. is whetting its sword for invading the north behind the scene despite its oft-repeated talk that ‘it has no intention to invade the north’," said the commentary, which was carried by the official KCNA news agency.

STILL COMMITTED

Japanese envoy Kenichiro Sasae said the North nevertheless was committed to the talks.

"Overall, they have an intention to firmly implement the agreement. But the question is how they will do that in a concrete way and no agreement has been reached on that score," said Sasae, who met North Korean officials late on Tuesday.

Officials and experts predicted turning the vague consensus forged in September into a charter for action would be painstaking, but said the focus of this round would be to lay the groundwork for more detailed bargaining.

The central task "is to formulate the detailed rules, methods and steps to implement the joint statement under the principle of commitment for commitment and action for action," China’s chief negotiator, Wu Dawei, said at the opening session.

South Korean envoy Song Min-soon said the countries could meet again in December, likely for working-level talks.

"We are going to need a bit of endurance, but I think there is a way to reach an agreement on an implementation plan," he told reporters.

The six-party talks began in 2003 when China sought to broker a peaceful compromise after the United States accused North Korea of covertly building atomic weapons and the North pulled out of the NPT. North Korea said in February it had nuclear weapons.

In return for scrapping the weapons, Pyongyang has demanded other countries in the talks accept its right to civilian nuclear power and provide it with a light-water reactor.

The United States says it will consider the demand after the North verifiably dismantles its nuclear arsenal.

(Additional reporting by Chris Buckley and Lindsay Beck)