hankyoreh

The six party head of delegation talks in Beijing came to an end after four days of meetings in which negotiators failed to adopt a verification protocol on North Korea’s nuclear programs. This is disappointing, even considering the situation created by the change of administrations in the United States. The talks are going to be at a stalemate for the time being.

It is North Korea that has the most responsibility to bear for the fact the talks produced no results. Its delegation repeatedly said that it could not accept the collection of samples, saying that would be exposing its nuclear capabilities in a situation in which there is no trust, all the while also claiming the issue is one of “sovereignty” and “national security.” Its attitude make no sense. Verification is all about determining what the North’s nuclear capabilities are, and agreeing on a more developed verification plan would build a lot more confidence. If, on the other hand, the North continues to do what it did this time, which was to act as if it still has something to hide about its nuclear capabilities, that is not going to allow for the confidence essential to making progress at the six-party talks.

It appears to be thinking that it should hold on to the verification issue as a card to play against the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama. There is, of course, some possibility that aspects of Pyongyang’s relationship with Washington could change when Obama is inaugurated, since he has pledged to have “package negotiations” and direct, high-level talks. But there is clearly going to be no resolution to the matter of verification without agreement on sample collection, no matter what the situation. If the North wants more meaningful dialogue with the Obama administration, the best thing for it to do would be to be favourably receptive to the adoption of a verification protocol, and now would not be too late.

South Korea deserves criticism for its behavior. Our delegation gave up being the “creative mediator” it had been previously and froze up the mood at the talks by making its strategy one of being high-handed with the Northerners. A fine example of this would be when Seoul’s top delegate to the talks, Kim Sook, openly said the South is going to link the adoption of a verification protocol to energy and economic aid. Seoul needs to be more proactive than anyone about resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, but it has come down to South Korea being called a bystander and an obstructionist at the talks, just like Japan.

The countries party to the six-party talks are now in a position in which they have to find a way to inject new momentum into the process. For starters, disablement and aid need to proceed without any hitches, so as to bring closure to the second phase of the process. Talk in some quarters about reconsidering aid will only exacerbate the situation. At the same time, we need to find ways to approach the next phase, including verification and then denuclearization, in an effective manner. One way to do that would be for the Seoul government to change its hard-line North Korea policies in a way that promotes smooth going for inter-Korean relations and the six-party talks.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]