Weekend talks between the United States and North Korea in
Geneva have brought brighter prospects for the Korean Peninsula's
denuclearization process and the improvement of relations between
the two hostile countries, analysts say.
The two sides have reached a preliminary consensus on the North
Korea's nuclear declaration and disablement. The United States said
North Korea had agreed to fully declare and disable its nuclear
programs by the end of 2007.
After the two-day meeting, North Korea's chief negotiator,
Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan confirmed that North Korea had
shown "clear willingness" in the talks to fully declare and disable
its nuclear programs.
The United States also showed its willingness in the talks to
provide North Korea with political and economic compensation, Kim
said.
US chief negotiator, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher
Hill hailed the talks as "very good and substantive," and have
"increased the possibility of success of the next round of
six-party talks".
Besides the nuclear issue, the two sides also discussed
bilateral relations, especially the key issue of removing North
Korea from a US list of "state sponsors of terrorism," which North
Korea is most concerned about, and the US ending its hostile policy
towards North Korea.
The two sides also discussed the possibility of establishing a
legal system to ensure the peaceful coexistence of both
countries.
The United States and North Korea have shown high expectations
for the talks, and deliberately shown to the public a warm and
friendly meeting atmosphere over meals at exquisite restaurants and
in their respective representative offices.
However, analysts say that though it's good news that the two
sides have reached consensus on the next stage of action over the
denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula, more concrete
problems remain to be solved, which need joint efforts from all the
six parties, which are the United States, North Korea, the Republic
of Korea, Russia, Japan and China.
For instance, both sides declined to explain the specific
content of the "nuclear programs" that North Korea is required to
declare and disable. Hill said that North Korea agreed to complete
the declaration and disablement process by the end of 2007, yet Kim
didn't mention the timetable while talking to the media. Hill also
gave ambiguous answers regarding US compensation to North Korea for
its cooperation.
On the issue of removing North Korea from the US list of "state
sponsors of terrorism", Hill said the two sides had "very good
discussions" on this issue, but he declined to be more specific.
Besides, Hill also mentioned the importance of North Korea-Japan
relationship, asking North Korea to make efforts to solve the
so-called "kidnapping issue" which has haunted North Korea-Japan
relations for years.
Having been hostile to each other for over 50 years, it's no
easy job for the United States and North Korea to break the ice
quickly. As the Geneva talks help the two countries reach consensus
on several key issues, the specific implementation of the
denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and the improvement of
bilateral relations are to be discussed during the next round of
six-party talks.
(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2007)
