Delegations assemble in Beijing for 6-way talks

BEIJING ― South Korea’s delegation arrived here yesterday for the start of negotiations to address the crisis that began last year with the disclosure of North Korea’s clandestine nuclear program in violation of its international commitments.
“This is only the start of a long process ahead,” said Lee Soo-hyuck, South Korea’s deputy foreign minister and chief negotiator, at a press briefing. “We will do the best for the best result. The meeting is the culmination of the determined effort by the countries to resolve the nuclear issue peacefully.”
Delegates from Moscow, Tokyo and Washington also arrived yesterday; North Koreans are expected this morning.
A final meeting to fine-tune negotiation strategies is planned by South Korean, U.S. and Japanese officials at the South Korean Embassy here today. Seoul officials will also have bilateral meetings with Russian and Chinese counterparts, but no dialogue with the North Koreans has yet been arranged.
After preparatory meetings today, delegates of the six countries will attend a welcome dinner at the Chinese government-run retreat in Diaoyutai, hosted by the Chinese chief negotiator Wang Yi.
Two days of plenary talks will begin tomorrow; delegates will meet in a series of six-way and bilateral talks.
Clouding the mood in Beijing was speculation about the future of the light-water reactor project in North Korea. “Because the six-way talks are unlikely to bring a conclusion at once, we bear in mind the possibility of suspending the project,” a senior Seoul official said yesterday. Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan had said Friday that “the reactor project may be halted temporarily, but it may resume soon.”
The reactor project was agreed between Washington and Pyeongyang in 1994; an international consortium was to build two light-water reactors for the North in return for its mothballing its nuclear programs. About 32 percent of the work has been completed. Seoul has invested more than $900 million for the program.

by Kim Young-sae, Ser Myo-ja