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China‘s special representative for North Korea policy and Glyn Davies

By Park Hyun, Washington correspondent

The chief negotiators for the US and Chinese delegations to the six-party talks held a second day of meetings in New York on Apr. 15, but it appears that they have not settled their differences about how to resume the six-party talks.

Glyn T. Davies, the US State Department’s special representative for North Korea Policy, and Wu Dawei, China’s Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs and envoy to the six-party talks, met at the US mission to the UN for about three hours on the afternoon of the previous day, but only for two hours on Apr. 15.

The two diplomats did not respond to any questions from reporters either when they were entering or leaving the discussion room, but Wu’s facial expression was stonier than it had been on the previous day. On Apr. 17, Wu is scheduled to have one more meeting with Davies in Washington, and to see bureaucrats from the Blue House and the State Department.

In an email sent to reporters on Apr. 15, State Department Spokesperson Jennifer Psaki said that the two envoys had a productive discussion about North Korea. The US and China are in agreement about the fundamental importance of a denuclearized North Korea, Psaki said, adding that Wu’s visit is part of high-level meetings between the two countries designed to promote in-depth discussions about how to peacefully achieve the shared objective of a denuclearized North Korea. This is exactly what was said in a statement released when Wu visited the US in Oct. 2013, suggesting that little progress has been made.

Wu, who visited Pyongyang in March, could have used the meeting to propose a way for North Korea and the US to return to the six-party talks. But the US has indicated that its conditions for resuming the talks - that North Korea show its sincerity about denuclearization by taking preliminary measures - have not changed.

“The North Koreans are prepared to take part in talks, and they are asking the US to set aside its policy of hostility,” said a diplomat in New York who is familiar with North Korea’s position on the issue, on condition of anonymity.

In regard to the fact that the two diplomats’ meeting took place in New York, which is the location of North Korea’s mission to the UN, there was speculation that Wu intended to share or discuss the content of the meeting with North Korea, but Wu reportedly did not contact the North Koreans. Another diplomatic source in New York reported having heard that the Wu and the North Korean officials were not planning to meet.

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