The United States yesterday again urged North Korea to return to six-nation talks aimed a dismantling the Asian state's nuclear program, Kyodo News reported (see GSN, Aug. 10).
"We want them to come back to the table and negotiate based on the commitments they've made," said U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood, referring to the North's previous denuclearization pledges. "And the ball, we believe, right now is in the court of North Korea."
Pyongyang, which walked away from the nuclear talks after being condemned by the U.N. Security Council for its April rocket launch, recently suggested it would be open to negotiating directly with the United States. Washington has said it would only have bilateral talks with North Korea in the context of multilateral engagement with the other four nations -- China, Russia, Japan, and South Korea.
"The North cannot be rewarded for its past behavior," Wood said regarding North Korea's missile and nuclear tests in recent months. "Simply, what the North needs to do is live up to its obligations" to abandon its nuclear ambitions (Kyodo News/Breitbart.com, Aug. 10).
Hans Blix, who led the International Atomic Energy Agency for 16 years, said in an interview published today that the six-party talks have been "a useful instrument" in curbing North Korea's nuclear program.
Diplomats "have clearly offered North Koreans that if they abandon the nuclear weapons' path, they will have assurance" regarding their nation's security against invasion, Blix told South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo. He questioned the value of U.N. sanctions in resolving the standoff.
"Until now, [U.N. Security Council resolutions] have not stopped (North Korea's) activities," he said. "That is clear. If you want to tell North Korea that 'you don't need nuclear weapons, you can do without them,' then the first thing is to reassure North Korea that its security will not be jeopardized by absence of nuclear weapons."
Blix said he is not certain whether North Korea is exporting nuclear technology to Myanmar, but that the possibility is troubling (see GSN, Aug. 10).
"The reports are vague so far," he said. "From what I gather, it might have to do with construction or research. Myanmar is not very advanced in the nuclear sphere.
"But of course, with North Korea’s record in the nuclear field, one has all the reasons to be suspicious about their exports. Any attempt by North Korea to spread nuclear knowledge that could be of use for weapons dissemination we take very seriously," Blix added.
The former U.N. weapons inspector said he does not believe U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to dispatch former President Bill Clinton to North Korea last week portends a change in U.S. policy toward Pyongyang's nuclear program.
"Even after Mr. Clinton's visit, he is standing by the six-party talks," Blix pointed out.
"One important thing that has been added by Obama is on the principle against proliferation," he added. "He said in his speech in Cairo that no country can decide who should be allowed to have nuclear weapons. He also favors that the world exit from the nuclear era. There's not been much saber-rattling vis-a-vis North Korea, as in the case of Iran. If you say that 'We may attack you,' people in Pyongyang might just say that, 'Well, that's it. We're threatened. So we need the (nuclear) bomb.' Therefore, it's the wise course of action that the Obama administration has chosen" (Nam Jeong-ho, JoongAng Ilbo, Aug. 11).