North Korea Seems to Focus on BDA
Member countries to the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue began their second meeting 9:30 a.m. in Beijing. The six top envoys to the talks are set to discuss what each nation stressed during opening speeches yesterday. According to the speeches, each nation seems to have an upper limit of demands and a bottom line of offers for making these fifth nuclear talks successful.
However, some nuclear analysts forecast that this round of talks will go like those before because of very different stances between Washington and Pyongyang. Based on the timetable of the talks, the US and North Korea are set to negotiate the financial row over US restrictions and a Macau bank on the sidelines of the talks. It is reported that Oh Gwang Chul, president of the Foreign Trade Bank of North Korea and financial experts are scheduled to arrive at Beijing airport in the morning to negotiate the BDA issue with the US.
They will meet with their US counterparts and Assistant U.S. Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser to negotiate ways of lifting US financial sanctions on the North and suspicion of North Korean counterfeiting of US dollars. According to a source, the North seems to intentionally shun direct talks with the US before the BDA talks begin.
If bilateral talks between the US and the North are held before or after the BDA talks, they seem to negotiate the demands of both sides as well. As the first stage of implementation, the US suggested that the North halt the Yongbyon nuclear reactor, accept IAEA inspections, report nuclear programs, and lockout nuclear testing grounds prior to complete disarmament of nuclear weapons by the North. In return, the US promised a signed security guarantee and a discussion of energy aid, among other things.
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 / 입력시간: 2006. 12.20. 08:22
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