Negotiators cautious about hope for progress

By Lee Chi-dong
BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Yonhap) -- Negotiators were set to restart fitful talks on the
North Korean nuclear crisis on Monday amid widespread doubts over the possibility
of a deal on the key agenda -- how to inspect Pyongyang's nuclear facilities.
"Obviously we're at a very important phase. We've got a lot to do at this round,"
top American nuclear envoy Christopher Hill told reporters after preparatory
meetings with his counterparts from South Korea, Russia, and Japan on Sunday. "I
hope we can get through this and really register some progress."
Hill expressed hopes for a deal on ways to verify the North's June declaration of
its nuclear program but admitted it would be a difficult round of negotiations.
"I am sure the negotiations will be, as usual, difficult." he said.
South Korean and Japanese envoys echoed Hill's cautiousness.
"I am not optimistic at all," South Korea's top negotiator Kim Sook told
reporters. Kim added that he will have a bilateral meeting with the North's envoy
Kim kye-gwan before the resumption of the six-way talks.
Kim said he will use his first one-on-one meeting in five months with the North
Korean diplomat to deliver Seoul's position on the envisioned verification
process, including the need for samples to be taken.
"I will deliver it in a clear tone," he told reporters.
Japan also voiced skepticism.
"I think the gap is still fairly big" Japanese envoy Akitaka Saiki said. "How to
bridge that gap will be up to the countries' efforts from tomorrow, but I predict
tough negotiations ahead."
Whether international inspectors should be allowed to take samples from the
North's nuclear sites will likely be a main sticking point.
The U.S. says taking samples from the North's nuclear sites is mandatory for
checking the accuracy of the declaration -- a basic requirement in charting the
dismantlement of its atomic weapons program. However, Pyongyang is opposed to
guaranteeing sampling in writing.
"Sampling is one of the number of verification methods, there are certainly other
issues," Hill said. "It's not unusual, it's not anything new, and it's not
anything the North Koreans should be objecting to."
Also to be discussed at what will probably be the last session under the Bush
administration are timetables to complete the slow-going disablement of the
North's main nuclear reactor in Yongbyon and the delivery of energy assistance as
a reward, according to the South Korean negotiator. About half of the promised 1
million tons of fuel oil and energy-related materials have been delivered so far.
The new round of six-way talks will likely be held at 3 p.m. Beijing time at the
Chinese guest house Diaoyutai, South Korean officials said.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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