Six-Party Talks Fail to Agree Timeframe

Six-Party Talks Fail to Agree Timeframe

The chief nuclear negotiators in talks on North Korea’s nuclear program failed to agree Thursday on a timeframe for the Stalinist country to report and disable its nuclear facilities. On the second day of fresh six-party talks, participants also failed to agree when the other five will send the rest of the heavy fuel oil the North stands to receive as a reward.
A senior official close to the nuclear talks predicted they are unlikely to reach agreement in the current round given the complexity of the agendas. But he said the participants “completed important basic discussions and agreed to set a timetable for the actions in the next round of talks.”
Pyongyang demanded the remaining 950,000 tons of heavy fuel oil it has been promised at a rate of 50,000 tons every month due to a shortage in storage facilities. But it failed to say what it will do in return for the reward.
South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator Chun Yung-woo expressed optimism that participants will not disagree on what “disabling” means, noting that participants discussed the concept in the current round and North Korea’s chief negotiator Kim Kye-kwan made “positive” comments.
The atmosphere in the current round, at least, is different from the tension that pervaded previous meetings. But a government official cautioned that the atmosphere “could sour any time depending on North Korea’s attitude, even if they have surprised participants with how smoothly they have gone so far.” Another government official said the atmosphere has been good because participants focused on the bigger theme of disablement.

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