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- Sep 20, 2016
With preparations under way for South Korea and the United States to hold their respective summits with North Korea, experts are now paying attention to whether the long-suspended six-party talks could be used as an effective format to ensure the denuclearization of the reclusive state.
Possibility is also being raised that the North might prefer such a multilateral negotiation platform as it appears to be striving to enlist support from China and Russia ahead of its leader Kim Jong-un's planned meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump that will likely focus on Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.
On Thursday, Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported that Kim told Chinese President Xi Jinping during their surprise summit in Beijing last week that he agreed to return to the six-party talks. If confirmed, it would represent a marked about-face from its long-held opposition to the multilateral talks.
A series of inter-Korean talks ensued after more than two years of hiatus, and the two Koreas eventually agreed to hold what will be their third summit talks on April 27.
Kim also delivered his invitation through South Korean officials to U.S. President Trump, who accepted it and even proposed to hold their bilateral meeting by the end of May.
The chances are high for the North to prefer the six-party talks in that the North is worried about the upcoming talks with the U.S. The North might believe that it would be more advantageous to return to the six-party talks than to deal with the U.S. one-on-one," said Woo Jung-yeop, a researcher at the Sejong Institute, a private think tank.
"The North would not prefer to seek a deal through bilateral talks with the U.S. at a time when the U.S. shows no signs of easily making concessions. Should it return to the six-party talks, its belief must be that it could have China, Russia and even South Korea behind its back," he added.
The recent ramped-up diplomatic efforts by the North to reach out to China could be interpreted as a related effort to rally their support and beef up its leverage before the meeting with the U.S. going forward
Cho Sung-ryul, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Strategy, echoed the view but noted that the format might not be the same as the long-suspended six-party dialogue.
"Multilateral talks could be held only after the U.S. and North Korea reach a broad-range agreement on denuclearization," he said. "However, whether that would be six-party or four-party talks involving just the two Koreas, the U.S. and China will remain to be seen."
http://m.yna.co.kr/mob2/en/contents_en.jsp?cid=AEN20180406005200315&domain=3&ctype=A&site=0100000000
Possibility is also being raised that the North might prefer such a multilateral negotiation platform as it appears to be striving to enlist support from China and Russia ahead of its leader Kim Jong-un's planned meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump that will likely focus on Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.
On Thursday, Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported that Kim told Chinese President Xi Jinping during their surprise summit in Beijing last week that he agreed to return to the six-party talks. If confirmed, it would represent a marked about-face from its long-held opposition to the multilateral talks.
A series of inter-Korean talks ensued after more than two years of hiatus, and the two Koreas eventually agreed to hold what will be their third summit talks on April 27.
Kim also delivered his invitation through South Korean officials to U.S. President Trump, who accepted it and even proposed to hold their bilateral meeting by the end of May.
The chances are high for the North to prefer the six-party talks in that the North is worried about the upcoming talks with the U.S. The North might believe that it would be more advantageous to return to the six-party talks than to deal with the U.S. one-on-one," said Woo Jung-yeop, a researcher at the Sejong Institute, a private think tank.
"The North would not prefer to seek a deal through bilateral talks with the U.S. at a time when the U.S. shows no signs of easily making concessions. Should it return to the six-party talks, its belief must be that it could have China, Russia and even South Korea behind its back," he added.
The recent ramped-up diplomatic efforts by the North to reach out to China could be interpreted as a related effort to rally their support and beef up its leverage before the meeting with the U.S. going forward
Cho Sung-ryul, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Strategy, echoed the view but noted that the format might not be the same as the long-suspended six-party dialogue.
"Multilateral talks could be held only after the U.S. and North Korea reach a broad-range agreement on denuclearization," he said. "However, whether that would be six-party or four-party talks involving just the two Koreas, the U.S. and China will remain to be seen."
http://m.yna.co.kr/mob2/en/contents_en.jsp?cid=AEN20180406005200315&domain=3&ctype=A&site=0100000000