North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told a visiting Chinese envoy that his government will return to six-party nuclear disarmament talks if the US shows sincerity and if certain conditions are met, the North's official news agency reported yesterday.
The Korean Central News Agency did not elaborate on the conditions, but the report could indicate that North Korea would be ready to strike a deal with the US on returning to the talks but that it might need further diplomatic coaxing to do that.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Lou Fintor said that the US is ready to resume the talks "without preconditions." Washington previously has opposed granting the North any concessions merely for returning to the table.
Japan said that North Korea's return to the talks would be "welcome," while China said more effort was needed by all parties before the negotiations could restart.
Efforts to get North Korea back into the talks have taken on new urgency since Pyongyang flouted Washington and its allies on Feb. 10 with its unconfirmed declaration that it had built nuclear weapons, and its announcement that it would boycott further six-party talks.
Kim's latest comments on the escalating standoff came during a meeting with a high-level envoy from China, his impoverished country's only remaining major ally.
Wang Jiarui, head of the Chinese Communist Party's International Department, traveled to Pyongyang to urge the North to return to the talks, which involve the two Koreas, the US, China, Japan and Russia.
"We will go to the negotiating table anytime if there are mature conditions for the six-party talks," Kim told the envoy, expressing hope that the US would show "trustworthy sincerity" and take unspecified action, KCNA said.
Kim said North Korea "would as ever stand for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and its position to seek a peaceful solution to the issue through dialogue remains unchanged," the news agency said.
North Korea previously has said it would return to the talks only if the US drops its "hostile" policy toward the North. It has condemned US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's description of North Korea as an "outpost of tyranny," calling the remark evidence that Washington seeks a regime change in Pyongyang.
North Korea seeks to trade its nuclear weapons programs for massive economic aid, diplomatic recognition and a nonaggression treaty with Washington -- measures that it hopes will guarantee the survival of Kim's Stalinist regime.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
POLLS CONCERNS: There are concerns within the KMT that a Cheng Li-wun-Xi Jinping meeting could trigger a voter backlash in elections in November Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit next month, her party and Chinese state media reported yesterday. Cheng, who took up her role in November last year, “gladly accepted” the invitation to lead a delegation to China, the KMT said in a statement, confirming a Xinhua news agency report. Cheng “looks forward to joint efforts by both parties to advance the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, promote cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, and work for peace in the Taiwan Strait and greater well-being for people on both sides,” the statement said. Chinese
SIGNIFICANT TO THE WORLD: The delegation’s visit aims to send a clear message that bipartisan support for Taiwan is consistent, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said The US Senate’s bipartisan support for Taiwan remains strong and Taiwan-US ties would continue for decades to come, a US Senate delegation said in Taipei yesterday, while calling on the legislature to swiftly pass a special defense budget bill. A US delegation led by Democratic US Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican US Senator John Curtis — both members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations — arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a two-day visit. The other senators of the delegation included Senate Taiwan Caucus cochair Thom Tillis and Senate Committee on Armed Services senior member Jacky Rosen. Shaheen told a news
RSS