Six-nation talks on Washington's demand for North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions ended yesterday without a breakthrough but with envoys promising to discuss the "first steps for denuclearization" of the North before meeting again by the end of September.
The US, the two Koreas, China, Japan and Russia agreed to hold low-level discussions as soon as possible to define the North's initial moves toward disarmament, how they would be monitored and what kind of aid it could expect in return.
During the four-day talks in Beijing, North Korea said it would give up its nuclear program in exchange for fuel aid, an end to US economic sanctions and removal from the American list of countries that sponsor terrorism.
"We plan to not only freeze these facilities but also to dismantle them when [appropriate] conditions are created," the North said in a statement read to reporters outside its embassy.
The negotiators may still be far apart on how much the North must do to become eligible for the fuel aid and other benefits it is seeking, including security guarantees from Washington.
The talks' host, China, canceled a closing ceremony for the meeting, and delegates issued a "chairman's statement" rather than a joint statement -- signals that talks may have ended in discord.
"There is still a serious lack of mutual trust among the parties," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi (
The two-page chairman's statement said "The parties agreed in principle to hold the fourth round of the six-party talks in Beijing by the end of September, 2004."
It said lower-level discussions would be held "at the earliest possible date to define the scope, duration and verification as well as corresponding measures for first steps for denuclearization." Diplomats use the phrase "corresponding measures" to mean concessions granted to the North.
Two previous rounds of six-nation talks, held at a walled government guesthouse in Beijing, produced no major progress on the stated goal of all of North Korea's negotiating partners: A nuclear-weapon-free Korean Peninsula.
This week, "there have been no breakthroughs," a senior US official said on Friday on condition of anonymity. "The process is moving along, but we're not ready to declare success."
But US Department spokesman Adam Ereli in Washington was more upbeat, saying negotiators were exchanging proposals.
"The parties have been earnest in exploring the various proposals put forward," Ereli said. "We expect this process to continue, following the closing of the talks."
Also yesterday, Japan's Kyodo News agency reported that US Defense Department officials told Japanese counterparts that North Korea may have test-launched a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan earlier in the week, ahead of the talks. Japan has not indepen-dently confirmed the information, Kyodo News said.
In Washington, Pentagon officials could not immediately confirm the report.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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