US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pressed her North Korean counterpart to move rapidly on new nuclear disarmament steps yesterday, but hailed the “good spirit” at unprecedented six-party talks.
Rice said she shook hands twice with North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun, whom she met for the first time as she and her negotiating partners gave him a “very tough message” for Pyongyang to meet its obligations.
The pair met in Singapore with their counterparts from China, South Korea, Russia and Japan.
The US would like North Korea to agree to a US draft protocol setting out the arrangements for verifying the steps it has taken toward disarmament since a landmark agreement in February last year.
It hopes the protocol will be decided on early next month to allow for the start of verification in which experts would inspect North Korean plants, take soil samples, review documents and interview technical personnel.
“We didn’t get into specific timetables,” Rice told reporters afterward.
“Look, the spirit was good because the people believe we’ve made progress, but there is also a sense of urgency about moving on and a sense that we can’t afford another hiatus of several months,” she said.
Begun in 2003 before lapsing for three years, the six-country disarmament negotiations resumed after North Korea staged its first nuclear test in 2006.
The negotiations hit a deadlock at the end of last year when North Korea failed to meet a deadline to fully disable its weapons-grade plutonium plants and deliver a full account of its nuclear programs.
The deadlock was broken last month when North Korea handed over a partial account of its nuclear programs.
US President George W. Bush has begun the procedure to remove North Korea from a blacklist of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism as well as ease economic sanctions on North Korea, though most remain in place.
But North Korea said yesterday that Washington had not lived up to its side of the bargain.
Pak “emphasized the need for full implementation by the six parties [of] the respected obligations of each side” under previous agreements, North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Ri Tong-il said.
The principle was based on “action for action,” Pak said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College