Envoys at talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program failed to meet a deadline yesterday to respond to a new Chinese proposal affirming Pyongyang's right to peaceful nuclear activities after it disarms.
An unspecified number of countries at the talks have yet to get responses from their home governments about the draft proposed on Friday, a South Korean official said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak on the record. Some countries also felt they needed to further review their final positions, the official said.
The talks -- which include China, Japan, Russia, the US and the two Koreas -- were to reconvene this morning, the Chinese hosts said. All chief envoys were also set to attend a dinner last night hosted by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo (
Earlier yesterday, the main US envoy declined to comment on whether Washington approved of the new proposal. The North on Friday had steadfastly refused to give up its nuclear program without any concessions from the US -- a stance that puts it at odds with Washington.
"The Chinese have given us a text to react to, some ideas, so we're looking at those and having some internal discussions and talking with people in Washington," US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said yesterday morning.
"We'll see where we go," he said. "We've had a fairly fast pace for the last 24 hours and I think that will continue for the next 24 hours."
Seeking to break the deadlock, host China proposed that North Korea retain the right to a civilian nuclear program after abandoning its weapons, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev said on Friday.
The proposal contains "compromise wording which could satisfy both sides," Alexeyev said, referring to the US and North Korea.
However, Japan's envoy to the talks said none of the participants were completely happy with the new draft.
"All the participants concerned have some points that they are unsatisfied with," Kenichiro Sasae, director of the Asia and Oceania Bureau at Japan's Foreign Ministry, said yesterday.
"We are not necessarily satisfied," Sasae said
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
INTERCEPTION: The 30km test ceiling shows that the CSIST is capable of producing missiles that could stop inbound missiles as they re-enter the atmosphere Recent missile tests by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) show that Taiwan’s missiles are capable of intercepting ballistic missiles as they re-enter the atmosphere and pose a significant deterrent to Chinese missile threats, former Hsiung Feng III missile development project chief engineer Chang Cheng (張誠) said yesterday. The military-affiliated institute has been conducting missile tests, believed to be related to Project Chiang Kung (強弓) at Pingtung County’s Jiupeng Military Base, with many tests deviating from past practices of setting restriction zones at “unlimited” and instead clearly stating a 30.48km range, Chang said. “Unlimited” restrictions zones for missile tests is
PUBLIC SAFETY: The nationwide distribution campaign aims to enhance society’s overall understanding of threats and bolster defense awareness, an official said The latest edition of the National Public Safety Guide is being mailed to all citizens starting today to foster public awareness of self-defense in the event of war or natural disasters, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. “The guides will be disseminated to the public to enhance society’s overall understanding of threats and bolster defense awareness, demonstrating the government’s emphasis on people’s safety and its determination to pursue self-defense,” All-out Defense Mobilization Agency Director Shen Wei-chih (沈威志) said at the ministry’s news conference. The nationwide distribution campaign was planned according to President Lai William’s (賴清德) Sept. 20 directive, he said, adding
RSS