February 24, 2004

Photo: Negotiators from the US, Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia begin talks on the North Korean nuclear crisis in Beijing. North Korea and the United States held an ice-breaking meeting on the sidelines of six-party talks over Pyongyang's nuclear program, as they sought ways to hammer out a resolution to the 16-month standoff. (AFP/Greg Baker)

BEIJING — North Korea, the United States and four other countries convened delicate talks Wednesday to resolve a persistent dispute over Pyongyang's nuclear program, with diplomats from all sides expressing expectations of progress in the 15-month old stalemate.

The United States immediately reiterated that it had "no intention" of invading North Korea, and Pyongyang's top delegate called the talks "a very good opportunity" for progress.

"The United States seeks complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of all North Korea's nuclear programs, both plutonium and uranium," Assistant U.S. Secretary of State James Kelly said in opening remarks.

Delegates put their hands together for a photo as they entered China's state guesthouse for the meetings. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi opened the meeting, greeting representatives of the Koreas, the United States, Russia and Japan.

The talks, months in the making, are the second round to include both Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan. A first round in August, also held in Beijing, ended with little concrete progress and only vague promises to meet again.

"The recent flurry of diplomacy is good preparation for these talks and helps in understanding," Wang told delegates and their assistants at a six-sided table.

North Korea's top delegate, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, sounded an optimistic note in opening statements.

"This is a very good opportunity for us to set goals for these negotiations," he said. "We are here to seek common ground. ... During this conference, I hope we will have a definite outcome from our efforts.

Photo: A protester holds onto North Korean National flag as police try to take it to keep him from burning it during an anti-North Korea rally demanding the stop of the North Korea's nuclear programs, in front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2004. Six-nation talks, Russia, China, Japan, U.S.A. and two Koreas, aimed at resolving a 15-month-old nuclear standoff started today in Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Yun Jai-hyoung)

North Korea's partners in the talks all have publicly expressed desire for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. At issue are allegations that Pyongyang has a uranium-based weapons program as well as its known plutonium-based one. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's government has denied having a uranium-based program.

Late Tuesday, after pronouncing itself optimistic, North Korea said it wanted compensation before it began any freeze of its nuclear program — a statement aimed at the United States, which demands an immediate shutdown of the activities.

In December, North Korea proposed freezing its nuclear activities in return for economic aid and other concessions from the United States. But Washington demanded that Pyongyang start dismantling its nuclear programs first.

The North also wants a nonaggression treaty with the United States, but Kelly said it had nothing to worry about. "The United States has no intention of invading or attacking the DPRK," he said, using the initials for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

North Korea issued its latest demand hours before the meeting began — a common maneuver for the North, displaying intransigence to pressure negotiating partners into making concessions.

Photo: A sign criticizing North Korea is burnt by anti-North Korea protesters at a rally near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, February 25, 2004. About 20 protesters gathered on Wednesday to demand North Korea stop its nuclear program. REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won
President Bush once designated North Korea as a member of an international "axis of evil" with Iraq under Saddam Hussein and Iran. As this week's talks approached, the administration set aside belligerent rhetoric.

The communist nation has staked out such a position before, proposing in December that it freeze its nuclear activities in return for economic aid and other concessions from the United States. But Washington demanded that Pyongyang start to dismantle its nuclear programs first.

"Only if the compensation issue is settled can the North Korean freeze plan be achieved," a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying in Pyongyang, the North's capital, by China's official Xinhua News Agency on Tuesday.

Talks on the dispute, which is largely between North Korea and the United States, were convening after months of efforts to get all six countries on board. The previous six-party meeting, held in August, lasted three days by prior arrangement but ended with only vague promises to meet again. This time the parties set no time limit.

The United States pushed for an open-ended discussion so that the North Korean delegation could seek guidance from its government if deliberations should require it, said a U.S. official who asked not to be named.

The latest meeting was brokered by Beijing, which is in a unique position as North Korea's last major communist ally and an important economic partner of the United States and the other nations involved.

China prescribed realistic expectations for the talks and said any long-term solution would probably require more time.

"The Chinese side hopes that consensus can be reached. But we don't believe it's possible to reach consensus on all issues," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said Tuesday. She reiterated that notion several times, suggesting China's unease about overinflated hopes for a quick breakthrough.

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