Six-country talks aimed at nuclear-free N.Korea
Posted on: Sunday, 10 July 2005, 03:18 CDT
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)
Source: REUTERS
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