China appealed to North Korea yesterday to go ahead with working meetings before a new round of six-party talks on dismantling its nuclear program -- despite the North's declaration that it saw no point in attending.
"All the parties should agree to hold the framework meeting as soon as possible," said Chinese ambassador Ning Fukui on the Korean nuclear issue. He was speaking outside the site of a meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who was en route to North Korea.
Ning's appeal came after North Korea said on Monday that it was impossible for its diplomats to attend the meeting, complaining that the US wasn't interested in "making the dialogue fruitful."
The last round of talks ended in June without major progress toward a settlement but with a promise to hold a new round by the end of September, and for lower-level officials to gather before that to work on technical details. Other participants in the talks organized by China are South Korea, Japan and Russia.
"We believe that if all the parties show their sincerity and flexibility and further clarify their stance and proposals, then a new compromise can be reached," Ning said.
The North Korean government complained on Monday that Washington has ``destroyed itself the foundation for the talks, making it impossible for the DPRK [North Korea] to go to the forthcoming meeting of the working group.''
But Ning insisted the North Koreans "did not say they will not participate." Instead, he said, "they expressed that due to the differences that exist over their stance between North Korea and the United States, there is no basis for holding the meeting."
The dispute flared in 2002, when Washington said North Korea admitted operating a secret uranium-based nuclear program in violation of a 1994 agreement.
North Korea offered in June to freeze its nuclear program as a step toward dismantling it. In exchange, the North said it wants energy aid, an end to US economic sanctions and removal from the US' list of state sponsors of terrorism.
The US wants North Korea to disclose all nuclear activities, help dismantle facilities and allow outside monitoring. The US plan would withhold some benefits until later to ensure that North Korea cooperates.
On Monday, North Korea said the US was reserving the right to use force to disarm the country, though US officials say the country has have no intention of launching an invasion.
Pyongyang denied it was seeking to delay the nuclear talks to wait for results of the US presidential election in November.
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