Seoul easing conditions to resume nuclear talks

Kang Hyun-kyung

Lately, Seoul has shown signs of toning down things that North Korea must do to open up dialogue with the five other members of the six-party talks to end the North’s nuclear program.

A diplomatic source said Monday that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors could go to the North’s nuclear site to monitor the activities there, even though a nuclear program is in operation there.

“There is a possibility that North Korea could stop the plutonium-based nuclear program, but that it could refuse to halt the enriched uranium-based one. If this occurs, it could be possible that the other five nations will agree to dispatch the IAEA inspectors to the North’s nuclear site to monitor the nuclear activity,” he said.

Along with South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia are the parties involved in the multilateral talks.

The official’s remarks were considered as a “subtle change” from Seoul’s stand-firm stance on the strict conditions that the reclusive nation has to meet to open up dialogue

Earlier, a high-ranking government official told reporters on condition of anonymity that talks were unlikely to be held as long as the nuclear program in the North is in operation.

“Let’s suppose that the IAEA inspectors are invited to the North’s nuclear site where its nuclear program is in operation. This will only have an amplifying effect on denuclearization as the North will send the message that it has such program, while showing no sign of abandoning it,” he said.

Seoul easing conditions for the resumption of the nuclear talks came days after U.S. Governor Bill Richardson updated high-ranking U.S. State Department officials, including Deputy Secretary James Steinberg, with regard to the results of his latest trip to North Korea.

“Obviously, he (Richardson) brings a great deal of knowledge, and we value his perspective, but I’m not going to comment beyond that,” Mark Toner, acting spokesman of the U.S. State Department, told reporters during the press briefing Monday (Washington time).

Seoul’s subtle change in its stance on the conditions for the resumption of talks also coincided with media reports that the United States and China agreed that the next step should be dialogue between South and North Korea, rather than the resumption of the nuclear talks right away.

The U.S. State Department didn’t confirm the reports.

Seoul was insistent that improvement in inter-Korean relations should come first before resuming the multilateral talks.

The scenario of Seoul being left on the sidelines in the debate over the North Korean nuclear program, which is closely linked to its national interests, was considered as the worst possible case for policymakers here.

If the U.S.-North Korea direct talks “steal the show,” South Korea will need to take the consequences of not being a part of the talks.

If media reports on the U.S.-China agreement on the progress in South-North Korea relations before the nuclear talks are confirmed to be true, the South could calculate that the chances of it being left on the sidelines in the nuclear talks are dim.

U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in Washington in January, next year. The two leaders are expected to discuss the issues of mutual concern, including tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The U.S. government will reportedly send a delegation to the South before the summit. U.S. Defense Secretary Roberts Gates will drop by Seoul next week during his trip to China and Japan.

Earlier, China and Russia called for the resumption of dialogue to ease tensions between two Koreas that were escalated after North Korea shelled Yeonpyeong Island.

Seoul and Washington were skeptical about the prospects of the resumption of the talks, reiterating talks for the sake of talking were meaningless.