Sharp differences over North Korea's nuclear programs were back in the spotlight yesterday as the US held its line at the opening of another round of six-nation disarmament talks.
The talks are aimed at implementing a September agreement for North Korea to scrap its nuclear programs in exchange for energy and other aid, but the North later demanded an atomic reactor for energy purposes before disarming.
"First, they have got to disarm [and] create a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula," chief US delegate Christopher Hill told reporters before the talks got under way in the Chinese capital.
PHOTO: AP
"It is very clear in the agreement what they need to do," Hill said, holding the US position on Pyongyang.
Delegates from China, North Korea, South Korea, the US, Russia and Japan opened their fifth round of talks with little outward sign of a breakthrough in the impasse.
The chief of the Chinese delegation Wu Dawei (
"This result has not come easily and therefore all the parties should highly cherish it and treat it seriously," Wu said.
North Korea has said little about its intentions but adopted a typically angry stance on the eve of the meeting by claiming Bush had slandered its leader Kim Jong-il this week as a "tyrant."
When Shanghai-based designer Guo Qingshan posted a vacation photo on Valentine’s Day and captioned it “Puppy Mountain,” it became a sensation in China and even created a tourist destination. Guo had gone on a hike while visiting his hometown of Yichang in central China’s Hubei Province late last month. When reviewing the photographs, he saw something he had not noticed before: A mountain shaped like a dog’s head rested on the ground next to the Yangtze River, its snout perched at the water’s edge. “It was so magical and cute. I was so excited and happy when I discovered it,” Guo said.
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