Asian and European foreign ministers urged North Korea yesterday to return to talks on its nuclear arms program "without any further delay" as concerns grew that Pyongyang was preparing for an atomic test.
Nearly a year has passed since a third round of six-country talks on the crisis ended inconclusively in Beijing.
North Korea declared in February that it had nuclear arms and would stay away from the talks indefinitely -- a matter the foreign ministers said was a cause for "deep concern."
"[The ministers] strongly urged the DPRK [North Korea] to return to the negotiating table of the six-party talks without any further delay, and to make a strategic decision so as to achieve the denuclearization of the [Korean] peninsula in a peaceful manner through dialogue," said a chairman's statement issued at the end of a two-day Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).
ASEM, one of the few international groupings not to include the US, comprises 38 countries.
A third round of nuclear talks among the two Koreas, the US, Japan, Russia and China took place last June.
"Over the past 10 months, the six-party talks have not been held and in the meantime, it is highly likely that nuclear weapons development or missile development has proceeded steadily," Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura told a news conference wrapping up the ASEM gathering.
But a diplomat familiar with the meeting said China was growing irritated at the mounting pressure it faces to persuade Pyongyang.
"It's China's position that it will work on its own initiative, not because of pressure from others," he said.
The Washington Post reported on Saturday that China had rebuffed a request last week by US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill to cut off North Korea's oil supply as a way of pressuring it to return to the talks.
A US defense official in Washington said on Friday that spy satellite images had shown what could be preparations for an underground nuclear test, although he added the warning that this also might be an elaborate ruse by the North.
"We do hope that North Korea will not take such kinds of measures as to test nuclear weapons," South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon told the news conference, adding that it was in the North's interests to abandon its nuclear arms program in return for economic and energy aid and security assurances from participating countries.
Washington has made clear it would consider taking the matter to the UN Security Council -- a prelude to possible sanctions -- if North Korea kept shunning the talks.
Pyongyang has said sanctions would be tantamount to a declaration of war.
Ban agreed international patience was wearing thin, but he said diplomacy could still succeed.
"The room for negotiations is not completely shut down," he said, adding that participants in the talks should "exert their utmost efforts" to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table.
US officials have said they believe Pyongyang has already amassed enough fissile material to make six to eight bombs.
also see story:
EU official chides on Myanmar
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RSS