Topic : 

North Korea & 

Nuclear weapon

N. Korea Open to 3-Way Talks, Officials Say
Chinese Inform U.S. Of New Conditions

By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 17, 2003; Page A09

The Chinese government informed U.S. officials that North Korea had agreed to drop its demand for initial one-on-one talks with the United States to resolve the impasse over Pyongyang's development of nuclear arms, but said Washington must abandon its insistence that the talks also include Japan and South Korea, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

Instead, the talks would involve only North Korea, China and the United States, a return to the format for the single set of talks that have taken place since the crisis over North Korea's nuclear ambitions erupted last October.

The impasse has deeply worried North Korea's neighbors, who have grown anxious as North Korea has appeared to be moving rapidly to assemble a nuclear arsenal.

The Chinese have suggested the three-way talks as a route out of the standoff. U.S. officials said they would continue to press for five-party talks, though they have not ruled out agreeing to a three-way meeting. "We think five is the right formula and will keep pressing for that," a senior State Department official said.

North Korea offered a proposal to end the crisis at the last meeting, so the United States would be expected to make a counteroffer at any future encounter. Bush administration officials, however, have not agreed on a precise formula, and in fact have resisted the idea that they are engaging in any negotiations with the North Koreans.

The developments this week have highlighted the increasingly visible role the Chinese have taken in attempting to resolve the crisis. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell telephoned China's foreign minister, Li Zhaoxing, Tuesday evening to consult on China's efforts, which was when he learned of the new proposal. A senior Chinese official who recently spent four days in Pyongyang is arriving in Washington later this week for discussions with Powell and other U.S. officials.

"China is moving. They are working on it," said a South Korean official, noting that China provides the bulk of oil and additional food aid to the impoverished country. "If North Korea rejects dialogue now, China will be unhappy."

North Korea has repeated the claim it made in April that it has reprocessed spent fuel rods into weapons-grade plutonium. South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies have said they have found evidence suggesting North Korea has at the very least begun reprocessing, according to reports in South Korea and in the United States.

The reprocessing of nuclear fuel means North Korea has crossed the "red line" that prompted the Clinton administration to begin preparations to bomb North Korean facilities in 1994, a plan called off by a last-minute agreement. "Even if they've crossed the red line, all we can do is talk," the South Korean official said.

The Bush administration has said it will use a combination of negotiation and pressure to get North Korea to dismantle its nuclear arms program. But talks have been stalled since the session April 25 in Beijing.

North Korea, meanwhile, has declared its intention to "defend itself" with the "ultimate weapon," and has taken steps to develop a nuclear device.

Analysts are warily watching two upcoming dates -- the anniversary of the Korean War armistice, reached on July 27, 1953, and the anniversary of North Korea's founding on Sept. 9 -- to see if the North will announce itself to be a nuclear power, which could be followed by testing.

Officials in Seoul say there is little that the United States can do independently to prevent that. They continue to believe a military attack on North Korea is unthinkable because of the devastating retaliation likely to be unleashed on the South.

Correspondent Doug Struck in Seoul contributed to this report.