Negotiators cautious about hope for progress

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with envoys' new comments)
By Lee Chi-dong
BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Yonhap) -- Top U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill on Monday
reiterated his cautious outlook for a new round of six-way talks on the North
Korean program, hours before its opening.
"We all know what we're supposed to get accomplished here... and like all the
six-party meetings it'll be difficult negotiations," the chief U.S. negotiator
told reporters as he left his hotel for a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wu
Dawei. "I will be able to tell you better after a couple of days."
Reaching a deal on ways to inspect the North's nuclear facilities is a primary
goal of the talks also involving South Korea, Russia, and Japan. The last round
was held in July. Many expect this session to be the last one under the Bush
administration.
The U.S. has said there is a common understanding on the need for using
scientific methods in the verification process, but the format and wording of the
envisioned six-party document is up for negotiation.
North Korea is especially sensitive to Washington's demand for sampling of its
nuclear sites, saying it is tantamount to an illicit house search.
Hill has signaled that host China will soon circulate a draft of a verification
protocol.
"It's their responsibility to circulate drafts. We've circulated a number of
things in the last couple of months. So all of our partners are well aware of
what our aspirations are," Hill said.
South Korean negotiator Kim Sook expressed pessimism over the upcoming talks.
"There are many formats for a deal, but the core contents discussed during the
trilateral meeting between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan should be included,"
Kim said, heading to meet North Korean envoy Kim Kye-gwan at the Chinese guest
house Diaoyutai.
It would be their first meeting in five months amid frosty inter-Korean relations.
"I will have consultations with the North Korean side, bearing in mind the fact
that bilateral relations are important in progress in the six-party talks," Kim
said.
Also to be discussed at the new session, scheduled to open at 3 p.m. (Beijing
time), 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.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)