As North Korean leader Kim Jong-il emphasized the good faith efforts of six-party talks nations during his meeting Monday with Wang Jiarui, director of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, North Korea’s chief delegate to the six-party talks, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, began an unexpected visit to China on Tuesday. Government officials and experts agree that these are positive moves towards resuming the six-party talks, but there are differences of opinion over whether they will lead to resuming the talks in the near future.

Kim Kye-gwan’s delegation, which includes North Korean Foreign Ministry North American affairs bureau chief Li Gun, reportedly plans to stay in Beijing, and will meet to discuss six-party talks with Chinese chief negotiator for the six-party talks Wu Dawei and vice chief negotiator Yang Houlan, China’s ambassador for Korean peninsula affairs.

Ahead of this, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il met with Wang Jiarui at Hamheung City in Hamgyeongbuk Province on Monday. China’s Xinhua News reported on Tuesday that Kim Jong-il said North Korea’s consistent position has been in support of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and that it is essential for the governments of each six-party talks nation to make sincere efforts to resume six-party talks.

Placing an emphasis on good faith efforts on the part of member states, Kim’s comments were highly abstract, so experts are making a number of interpretations. Some experts are viewing Kim Jong-il’s remarks as a negative expression, an indirect expression of dissatisfaction with the U.S. government’s passive attitude. Others are viewing the remarks as a development, referencing Kim Jong-il statement during a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in October that North Korea is prepared to come forward for multilateral talks, including the six-party talks, and the fact that no reference was made to “changing the hostile North Korea-U.S. relationship into a peaceful one,” a statement that has thus far been presented as a somewhat of a precondition.

Nonetheless, Wang’s visit to North Korea (Feb 6 through 9) and Kim Kye-gwan’s visit to China are seen as generally positive signs for the six-party talks. A government official said that at least from the perspective of mustering support to restart the six-party talks, nothing negative is evident from Kim Jong-il’s remarks. One diplomatic source in Beijing said China, as the chair nation of the six-party talks, is making proactive moves, and since Kim Kye-gwan has decided to visit China, there are bound to be concrete discussions regarding the six-party talks.

There is, however, a divide between those who are optimistic that this will lead to an early restart of the six-party talks and those who are remaining cautious. The more cautious experts are citing as their basis of concern the lack of points of connection between North Korea and the U.S. on lifting sanctions prior to restarting the six-party talks and the simultaneous discussion of a peace treaty and North Korea’s denuclearization. The U.S. is remaining firm in its position that North Korea must officially rejoin the six-party talks and show a set degree of progress in denuclearization before lifting sanctions and a peace treaty will become possible.

The more optimistic experts are viewing Kim Kye-gwan’s visit to China as a preliminary step in North Korea’s return to the six-party talks. University of North Korean Studies professor Yang Mu-jin said he believes Wang will promise a good deal of support to North Korea, and Kim Kye-gwan will convey both Kim Jong-il’s intention to denuclearize North Korea and a timeframe for resuming the six-party talks. Yang believes the six-party talks will resume in March. Another South Korean government official also said that while the U.S. position is one of principle, the important thing is to focus on what steps North Korea is taking, and that South Korean government officials need to leave open the possibility of an early resumption of the six-party talks.

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