03 November 2003 14:34
Russian-U.S. consultations on North Korea due in November
Russia and the United States will have consultations on the North Korean nuclear problem in Washington in November, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov told Interfax. Losyukov will lead the Russian delegation to the consultations. Losyukov hopes "the United States will give a more detailed account of its idea" on how to settle the situation on the Korean Peninsula at the negotiations. "That will help our work with North Korea and other parties to the negotiations [on the North Korean nuclear problem] before the second round of negotiations," the deputy minister said.
Last week Pyongyang agreed to hold a second round of the negotiations and said it was ready to consider the U.S. proposal of "written guarantees of non-aggression." The first round of the six-party negotiations (Russia, the United States, North Korea, South Korea, Japan and China) was held in Beijing in late August. Russia believes it necessary to concentrate on preparations for the second round, Losyukov said.
"The second round of the negotiations, in contrast to the first one during which initial positions were stated, may focus on a more detailed consideration of settlement variants and phases of progress towards a result acceptable to everyone," Losyukov said. "The result [that would be] acceptable to everyone is well known," he said. "It is the liquidation of the North Korean nuclear weapons program, but an atomic energy program is permitted by international agreements for countries cooperating with the IAEA. The other inseparable element of the settlement is security guarantees for North Korea," he said.
"I think this result cannot be achieved immediately, even during the second round of the negotiations. So, the parties should make intermediate synchronized steps. The second round should focus on the discussion of such steps," the deputy minister said.
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