Six-country talks aimed at nuclear-free N.Korea

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea has agreed to return to
stalled six-country talks on its nuclear weapons programs this
month, the official KCNA news agency said on Saturday.

Following are key points surrounding the six-country talks.

THE BEGINNING AND THE ROUNDS

China hosted three rounds of talks beginning in August 2003
with North and South Korea, the United States, Japan and
Russia. It was not until the third and last round in June last
year that substantive proposals were made on ending the North’s
nuclear plans. No discussions on the proposals have followed so
far.

GIVE AND TAKE

The basic premise of the talks is for North Korea to
dismantle all its nuclear weapons programs in a verifiable
manner in exchange for much-needed aid for its moribund economy
and security guarantees.

Seoul has recently said it has a substantial incentive
package that goes beyond any other made. Media reports said the
plan involved a huge injection of aid and technical assistance
akin to the U.S. Marshall Plan that was instrumental in putting
Western Europe back on its feet after World War II.

WHAT NORTH KOREA ASKED FOR

The North has sought energy aid, its removal from the U.S.
list of states that sponsor terrorism and the lifting of all
sanctions against it. It will freeze its nuclear programs in
return.

Pyongyang’s condition for its return was for Washington to
treat it with respect.

U.S. DEMANDS

Washington wants to see the North begin dismantling all
nuclear programs, including one based on uranium enrichment
technology, within three months of freezing them. It has not
offered to be directly part of an energy aid package. The other
four parties backed the U.S. proposal in public but with
nuances and varying degrees of enthusiasm behind the scenes.

BREAKDOWN

The countries, including the North, agreed at the third
round in June 2004 to meet again in three months and to hold
working-level talks to draw up detailed negotiating points for
the new round. Those talks never materialized.

(Sources: South Korean Foreign Ministry, Reuters and other
media reports)