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Top South Korean negotiator Chun Yung-woo

The fifth round of six-nation talks on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear program concluded on December 22. The week of negotiations, focused on financial sanctions placed on North Korea at Macau-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA) and implementation of a September 19 joint statement that has the North agreeing to give up its nuclear program, failed to yield tangible results. However, there was a certain amount of progress made, as the North Korean nuclear matter has moved from a phase of sanctions into one of negotiations.

North Korea has been obsessively focused on freeing its funds at BDA; this week was no exception. North Korea continued to demand the U.S. move to lift financial sanctions at the bank, which began in September 2005 when the U.S. Department of the Treasury placed the bank on a list of financial institutions suspected of dealing in illegal North Korean funds.

If Washington does not lift the sanctions, Pyongyang said, the North will not discuss the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. However, the North’s strategy failed to win support from other participants. The U.S. refused to accept the North’s demand, and other participating nations voiced their disagreement with North Korea.

North Korea’s obsession with the BDA issue prompted it to be isolated during the negotiations. In previous talks, participants had demanded the U.S. show flexibility.

But at the same time, North Korea’s willingness to at least hold negotiations over the issue received praise. U.S. deputy treasury secretary Daniel Glaser said that this round of talks was "practical and useful." In a rare move, the U.S. showed a strong will to negotiate with the North, as well. The main U.S. negotiator, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, stressed Washington’s seriousness on counteroffers in exchange for the North’s abandoning its nuclear weapons, citing a plan set forth by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. North Korea’s chief negotiator, Kim Kye-gwan, was said to express his friendliness over Hill’s sincere explanations.

However, the U.S. failed to earn trust from North Korea due to a lack of sufficient counteroffers in the eyes of the North, especially in exchange for its abandonment of its nuclear weapons. Indeed, the U.S.’s offers for the North’s dismantling of its nuclear program are still ambiguous, pointing to the fact that those in Washington seeking to negotiate with Pyongyang still occupy a weak status as compared to stronger, more hard-line voices.

China showed a limited role again as North Korea and the U.S. were at a deadlock. China played a crucial role for the six-nation talks to resume after a 13-month hiatus, but it seems Beijing failed to persuade the participants of the need to make progress.

South Korea also failed to play a role as an arbitrator between North Korea and the U.S. Given the overall lack of progress at this round stemming from the inability of countries such as China and South Korea to weigh in and try to resolve the North Korea-U.S. standoff, some again raised questions over the efficacy of the six-party format.

The U.S., which expected visible results during the talks, will likely deliver a message to China that Beijing is now needed to place further pressure on North Korea to come to the negotiating table ready to give as well as take. In fact, China had been under pressure from the U.S. prior to the resumption of the six-party format, as the country most likely able to spur the North into some form of compromise.

On December 21, Hill said that if the U.S. and China make a joint effort and yield successful results, the two nations will see successful results in other pending issues over the next few years. Hill’s remark hinted that China could propose a strategic joint approach with the U.S. through the six-party talk format.

South Korea was also praised for its proposed compromise between North Korea and U.S. The so-called flexible package deal divides the process of resolving North Korea’s nuclear issue into several phases, starting with a freeze and ending in complete dismantlement of its nuclear weapons and facilities. Under the proposal, the other five nations would offer the North incentives broadly grouped into security guarantees and economic and political benefits, corresponding to the North’s actions. But South Korea’s proposal was not picked up by either side.

Japan stood alone during the negotiations, the only participant that did not hold bilateral talks with North Korea. Given the hostile stance of Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe toward North Korea, Japan’s role in the six-party talks may continue to weaken. Never a strong player in the six-party forum, Russia also failed to make its own voice heard during this round of talks.

The Japanese government did manage to express its negative opinion regarding the Bush administration’s moves to talk directly with North Korea, a decision colored by the U.S. Republican party’s defeat in mid-term Congressional elections. Given this, those in Japan’s Right may internally welcome the quick demise of the six-party talks this week, as it ended these bilateral discussions for the time being.

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