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N. Korea Won't Agree to Nuclear Pledge NewsMax.com WiresBEIJING -- China is struggling to persuade its ally North Korea to agree to a statement meant to lay the foundation for nuclear disarmament, the chief U.S. envoy to the negotiations said Wednesday, insisting Washington has done all it can. Envoys from all sides have repeatedly expressed determination to make progress in this round of six-nation talks - the fourth in a series that began in 2003, which have so far failed to make any breakthroughs on the standoff.
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Senior Chinese officials tried to persuade North Korea to accept the draft statement during an unusual late-night session at a Chinese government guesthouse, said the American envoy, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill. But Hill said North Korea had not agreed to "basic elements" of the statement proposed by China at the talks, which were scheduled to stretch into their 10th day Thursday. He wouldn't give any details. Negotiators have suggested this round of talks was nearing its end, but gave no sign they had agreed to anything. "We're confident the Chinese will work very hard to get the DPRK to sign onto the draft agreement," Hill said, referring to the North by the initials of its formal name. Hill said he didn't know how long the talks would last, but added: "I'm a patient person." North Korea "is a country suffering from a profound number of problems," Hill said of the impoverished communist nation that relies on outside aid to feed its people. "None of those problems can be solved with nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons are not going to pave the roads, they're not going to build health care, they're not going to build schools." Hill and the North Koreans were both present late Wednesday at the guesthouse that is the main site of the talks, but were in separate rooms and had no direct contact. He said Chinese diplomats spoke to both groups but didn't relay messages between them. China didn't ask the U.S. delegation to change its position on the statement, Hill said. Earlier Wednesday, Hill said, "We have done everything we can do. We've talked to everyone we can talk to." He said the United States has "shown a certain amount of flexibility in dealing with this tough issue." Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, speaking in Tokyo, said earlier Wednesday that disputes centered on to what extent the North's nuclear program should be dismantled and whether it should retain the right to peaceful use of nuclear technology. South Korea's representative, Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, said the text includes a clause about normalizing Pyongyang's relations with Washington and Tokyo - a sticking point in previous rounds. None of the diplomats at the meeting - which also involves Russia - has given any details of the draft. Hill said the North Koreans would "decide on their own" whether to agree to the draft. "They're not going to listen to pressure from me," he said. The North Koreans and Americans have said they want to narrow their differences. But Pyongyang's chief negotiator insisted Tuesday that the Stalinist regime won't give up its atomic weapons program until Washington withdraws alleged threats. The nuclear crisis erupted in late 2002 after U.S. officials said the North acknowledged violating a 1994 deal by embarking on a secret uranium enrichment program.
© 2005 The Associated Press
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