Skip to main content
CNN International EditionWorld
The Web    CNN.com     
Powered by
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ON TV
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Possible breakthrough on Korean crisis

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has been demanding a nonagression pact with the United States.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has been demanding a nonagression pact with the United States.

Story Tools

more video VIDEO
CNN's Mike Chinoy reports on North Korea's military clout
premium content

Korean War veterans mark the 50th anniversary of the conflict's end
premium content

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- In a possible breakthrough on the Korean peninsula, Seoul says Pyongyang has agreed to take part in six-nation talks on the nuclear standoff.

Washington has long been pushing for multilateral talks but Pyongyang had previously rejected this demand, instead insisting on one-to-one talks with America.

A spokesman of the communist North's Foreign Ministry told Pyongyang's official news agency KCNA that North Korean officials delivered the proposal during recent talks with U.S. officials.

On Friday the White House cautioned the "real work" was still ahead and maintained Pyongyang must agree to "completely, visibly and irreversibly eliminate its nuclear weapons program." But President Bush said his administration is "optimistic" that the talks would succeed.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan earlier had said the scheduling of the meeting was still being worked out. Other administration officials said early September was the target.

Korean reporters were told the talks would include the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

The United States along with East Asian nations have welcomed the news.(Full story)

Nuclear weapons

Ever since U.S. officials said Pyongyang has admitted to a covert nuclear program in October, North Korean has upped the ante, kicking out inspectors and pulling out of a Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il has also demanded economic aid for his starving country, as well as a non-aggression pact with the United States.

The Bush administration -- which has labeled North Korea part of its "axis of evil" -- has been reluctant to put any non-aggression guarantee in writing.

In April, China hosted United States and North Korea in an unsuccessful round of three-party talks aimed at persuading the world's most isolated country to give up its nuclear weapons program.

Since that round ended, China has been pressuring North Korea to agree to another round.

A satellite image of a suspected North Korean nuclear facility
A satellite image of a suspected North Korean nuclear facility

One senior Asian diplomat said North Korea might have agreed to multilateral talks for several reasons:

- North Korean officials want a deal -- provided they can "save face";

- North Korea wants to placate China, a close ally that supplies Pyongyang with most of its energy, and would "mollify" China by going to such a meeting;

- North Korea may be playing for more time as it continues to work on its alleged secret nuclear weapons program.

In recent weeks a North Korean representative to the United Nations told a U.S. official in New York that Pyongyang had finished reprocessing 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods.

But, the official said, most observers believe that the most North Korea could have reprocessed so far would be "less than half" of that amount.

Experts have maintained that North Korea had enough spent plutonium to produce five or six nuclear weapons, once it had been reprocessed.

-- CNN White House Correspondent Chris Burns contributed to this report.


Story Tools
Click Here to try 4 Free Trial Issues of Time! cover
Top Stories
Iran poll to go to run-off
Top Stories
EU 'crisis' after summit failure
 
 
 
 

CNN US
On CNN TV E-mail Services CNN Mobile CNN AvantGo CNNtext Ad info Preferences
SEARCH
   The Web    CNN.com     
Powered by
© 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.
external link
All external sites will open in a new browser.
CNN.com does not endorse external sites.
 Premium content icon Denotes premium content.