ID :
42508
Sat, 01/24/2009 - 17:49
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/42508
The shortlink copeid
U.S. hails N. Korean leader's positive stance on 6-way nuke talks+
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 Kyodo - The United States said Friday it embraces as a favorable development North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's willingness to promote six-party talks on ending his country's nuclear drive.
''That's a good thing,'' said State Department spokesman Robert Wood, referring
to Kim's renewed commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula
made during a visit to Pyongyang by a senior Chinese official.
Wood said at a news briefing that as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has
said, the six-way framework involving North and South Korea, the United States,
China, Japan and Russia ''has merit.''
''There's going to be a review of our policy with regard to North Korea. But I
think it's safe to say that not only this administration but other governments,
particularly those in the six-party framework, want to see a Korean Peninsula
that's denuclearized,'' he said.
On Friday, Kim told Wang Jiarui, the head of the Chinese Communist Party's
International Department, that North Korea wants to boost cooperation with
China to promote the six-party process, China's Xinhua News Agency said.
It was Kim's first reported contact with a foreign envoy since questions about
his health surfaced last year. North Korea has vehemently rejected reports
about its leader's health setback.
Kim was last reported to have met a foreign figure in July, with the head of a
Russian dance troupe that performed in North Korea.
Kim's last formal talks were with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who
visited North Korea in June.
Xinhua's report Friday quoted Kim as saying that North Korea is ''working
toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.''
He was quoted as saying that North Korea does not want tension on the peninsula
and wants to ''strengthen coordination and cooperation with China and
continually promote the six-party talks process.''
Wood reiterated that despite the change of government in Washington, the U.S.
stance of urging North Korea to accept a robust mechanism to check its nuclear
programs remains unchanged.
''One of the problems that we've had with the North is trying to get this
verification protocol so that we can verify all of the documents, the 18,000
pages that were submitted,'' he said.
''We want to see the North agree to those types of verification measures. We
think they're important -- you know, the whole concept of trust but verify,''
Wood said.
The last round of the six-way party talks, hosted by China, ended without
progress in December as participants failed to resolve their differences over
ways to verify Pyongyang's nuclear information.
Asked about the possibility of the United States having direct talks with North
Korea outside the six-party framework, Wood repeated that the review is under
way with respect to the administration's North Korea policy.
==Kyodo
2009-01-24 17:57:5
''That's a good thing,'' said State Department spokesman Robert Wood, referring
to Kim's renewed commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula
made during a visit to Pyongyang by a senior Chinese official.
Wood said at a news briefing that as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has
said, the six-way framework involving North and South Korea, the United States,
China, Japan and Russia ''has merit.''
''There's going to be a review of our policy with regard to North Korea. But I
think it's safe to say that not only this administration but other governments,
particularly those in the six-party framework, want to see a Korean Peninsula
that's denuclearized,'' he said.
On Friday, Kim told Wang Jiarui, the head of the Chinese Communist Party's
International Department, that North Korea wants to boost cooperation with
China to promote the six-party process, China's Xinhua News Agency said.
It was Kim's first reported contact with a foreign envoy since questions about
his health surfaced last year. North Korea has vehemently rejected reports
about its leader's health setback.
Kim was last reported to have met a foreign figure in July, with the head of a
Russian dance troupe that performed in North Korea.
Kim's last formal talks were with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who
visited North Korea in June.
Xinhua's report Friday quoted Kim as saying that North Korea is ''working
toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.''
He was quoted as saying that North Korea does not want tension on the peninsula
and wants to ''strengthen coordination and cooperation with China and
continually promote the six-party talks process.''
Wood reiterated that despite the change of government in Washington, the U.S.
stance of urging North Korea to accept a robust mechanism to check its nuclear
programs remains unchanged.
''One of the problems that we've had with the North is trying to get this
verification protocol so that we can verify all of the documents, the 18,000
pages that were submitted,'' he said.
''We want to see the North agree to those types of verification measures. We
think they're important -- you know, the whole concept of trust but verify,''
Wood said.
The last round of the six-way party talks, hosted by China, ended without
progress in December as participants failed to resolve their differences over
ways to verify Pyongyang's nuclear information.
Asked about the possibility of the United States having direct talks with North
Korea outside the six-party framework, Wood repeated that the review is under
way with respect to the administration's North Korea policy.
==Kyodo
2009-01-24 17:57:5
