US and North Korea face off as nuclear talks open

By Jack Kim and Teruaki Ueno

BEIJING (Reuters) – 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)