North Korea yesterday came under increasing pressure from its traditional allies China and Russia to return to multi-party talks on eliminating its nuclear weapons program.
The diplomatic offensive came as the US said the six-nation talks were the only appropriate forum for negotiations and South Korea said it would urge Beijing to use its influence with Pyongyang to bring the North back in.
The isolated Stalinist regime on Thursday announced it possesses nuclear weapons and was dropping out of the multilateral talks, accusing the US of planning to invade.
China at the weekend said it would maintain the pressure on the North, with Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (
"[China] will strive to make the situation develop in a positive direction so that the six-party talks could resume as soon as possible," Li was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying in the telephone talks Saturday.
Russia, traditionally considered sympathetic to the North, issued an unusually strongly worded statement that Pyongyang would have made the "wrong choice" if it decided to quit the discussions.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said at a meeting of security experts in the German city of Munich Saturday: "If the information in question proves accurate, I would say that North Korea has made the wrong choice."
"I believe we should do all we can to keep that state in the treaty framework," he said.
The reactions highlighted growing US-led international pressure on the North since it claimed to have already developed nuclear weapons.
Speaking in Washington, where he has been holding talks with US officials on the standoff, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said Seoul would meanwhile try to persuade China to draw the North Koreans back to the talks.
Ban was to meet Rice today to discuss the issue.
"We shared the understanding that China intensify its effort to persuade North Korea and we've agreed to undertake diplomatic efforts toward that goal," Ban was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying.
China plans to send an envoy to Pyongyang this month in an attempt to get the talks to resume, according to Seoul officials.
Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee, will soon visit North Korea to discuss the nuclear issue, Seoul's YTN television said yesterday. Officials in Seoul and Beijing declined to confirm the report.
The nuclear issue is also expected to be a key agenda item when Japan's defense minister and foreign minister visit Washington on Feb. 19.
The US, the two Koreas, China, Russia and Japan met for three rounds of talks until June last year. But a fourth round failed to take place as planned in September, with Pyongyang accusing Washington of a "hostile" policy.
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS