S. Korea eyes five-way talks without N. Korea, but China's stance unclear

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, June 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea wants to hold five-way talks with the
U.S., China, Russia, and Japan on ways to pressure North Korea into abandoning
its nuclear weapons, according to South's President Lee Myung-bak, but China,
again, may have the final say.

Lee said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week that he will make
the proposal in his summit with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington later
this week, as related parties seek a long-term strategy to deal with the North as
well as ways to enforce a new U.N. Security Council resolution to punish it for a
second nuclear test last month.
The question is whether China, host of the six-way talks on the North's nuclear
program, will accept the offer if made, officials here said Monday.
"As there is no realistic possibility that North Korea will return to the six-way
talks for the time being, holding such a five-way meeting without North Korea can
be an option in discussing the next step," a senior foreign ministry official
said, asking not to be named.
He said the North's five dialogue partners "appear to be in the mood" for
considering such an unprecedented format.
"But there has been no concrete proposal yet, so it is hard to predict how China
will respond to the idea," the official said.
When North Korea stayed away from the bargaining table in 2006, South Korea and
the U.S. pushed for five-nation talks on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional
Forum (ARF) held in Kuala Lumpur. But China opposed the plan, saying it may
antagonize the North and have a negative impact on the six-party talks.
China's stance might have changed since North Korea's latest nuclear test, South
Korean officials said, citing Beijing's approval of the tough U.N. resolution
against Pyongyang.
"China's current position on North Korea is apparently not the same as before its
nuclear test," another ministry official said.
The South Korean president was quoted as saying by the Wall Street Journal that
the North Koreans "have gained, or bought, a a lot of time through the six-party
talks framework to pursue their own agenda."
"I think it's important now, at this critical point in time, for us not to repeat
any past mistakes," Lee said.
He added it is important for the remaining five countries -- which exclude North
Korea -- to come to an agreement on the way forward.
The Wall Street Journal, in its published edition on Saturday, did not carry
Lee's comments on the five-way talks proposal.
But Lee's office Cheong Wa Dae issued a separate press release later to the press
corp that highlighted the idea.
President Lee said he "will make an offer to President Obama that the five
nations hold a meeting for discussions on what North Korea wants in return for
giving up its nuclear weapons program and why it should denuclearize itself,"
according to the press release.
Foreign ministry officials said Lee was not suggesting an alternative to the
six-way talks, which are still viewed as one of the most efficient tools to deal
with the North.
"In the current stage, no related country other than North Korea is talking about
the demise of the six-way talks. If they hold a five-way meeting, it would be
aimed at reviving the six-way talks," the ministry official said.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said he may have a separate meeting
with his American, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian counterparts to discuss the
North Korean issue on the sidelines of this year's ARF to be held next month in
Thailand.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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