hankyoreh

Delegations from all nations involved were busy on Monday, the opening day of the six-party talks among chief delegates. From the beginning, representatives met variously to gather information as the schedule for the opening ceremony, which was planned for 3:00 p.m. (local time) at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, was delayed for over an hour. It was followed in the morning by a series of two-party discussions, including those between North Korea and Russia, the United States and China, South and North Korea, and Korea and China. This was basically each party anticipating moves and “taking sides” to search for a compromise plan in connection with the major items on the agenda for the meeting, including the documentation of a verification protocol.

Apart from central parties North Korea and the United States, two participant nations whose sense of presence became distinct with the opening of the meeting, were China and Russia, which had thus far shown relatively little activity and remained outside the realm of media interest.

Opinions around the site of the talks are unanimous about the major influence that the role host nation China plays in the process of verification protocol documentation will have on the success or failure of the talks. The important question is whether China can prepare a delicately crafted verification protocol draft that can draw agreement from all participating nations amid differences of opinion among South Korea, Japan, the United States and North Korea.

China has demonstrated the diplomatic means to overcome each hurdle of the six-party talks, for example pressuring the United States to accept a passage about discussing provision of a light-water reactor in the September 19 Joint Statement during the second stage of the fourth meeting in 2005. That morning, Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs, stressed, “The circulation of the verification protocol draft is China’s responsibility.”

Kim Sook, special representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Office of Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, said, “Core items must be included in the content, but there can be various plans for the form of the verification protocol.” It is a moment in which the “expert hand” of China is needed.

The prominence of Russia’s role in this meeting is somewhat exceptional in light of the history of the six-party talks to date. But there is sufficient justification behind South Korea and U.S. chief delegates emphasizing the “importance of Russia.” First, there is an aspect of anticipation that Russia can play an important role in the verification protocol documentation and real verification processes, and of urging it to do so. Russia is, along with the United States, the major possessor nation of nuclear weapons, and it also has the experience of dismantling large quantities of nuclear weapons in countries such as Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus in the 1990s, not long after the collapse of the former Soviet Union. Assistant Secretary of State Hill said Sunday night that “Russia is a nation with ample experience in the areas of nuclear dismantlement and verification.” He also said, “Russia has shown many constructive opinions today and will communicate them to North Korea as well.” Russia is showing an active approach as well, for example by following its two-party discussions with South Korea and the United States Sunday with a deep two-party discussion with North Korea lasting close to two hours Monday afternoon.

The role of Russia, host nation of the working group talks, could also grow in connection with discussions for building a Northeast Asia peace and security mechanism. At this meeting, Russia brought up the question of the “Draft for Basic Principles of a Northeast Asia Peace and Security Mechanism,” which compressed and summarized the results of discussions to date. Discussion of the building of a Northeast Asia peace and security mechanism is important in that even if a structure of bilateral discussions between North Korea and the United States is strengthened after the Obama administration takes office, it can form the foundation for holding six-party talks at the foreign minister level that can not only ensure the effectiveness of the six-party talks framework but also provide a new power source for entering the third stage, North Korea’s abandonment of its nuclear program.

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