Excerpt:
The aid-for-disarmament talks, which involve the two Koreas, China, the U.S., Japan and Russia, were last held in late 2008 before Pyongyang dropped out in protest of U.N. sanctions levied against it.
If that is all the 6 party talks are about (aid for disarmament) it is no wonder that there has been no return to the table. The north has shown that it can continue to survive without aid. Sure it would like the sanctions dropped but it will not give up the only security guarantee that it controls - its nuclear weapons. We are not going to be able to bribe north Korea with humanitarian aid because it does not care about what happens to its people and frankly the people have been demonstrating a very high level of resilience as they have had to cope with the failed public distribution system and very little international aid for some years now. The conundrum for the nuclear negotiations is that the north will not sacrifice its security by giving up its nuclear weapons and there is no guarantee by the US, the ROK, and the international community that the north will believe and trust save perhaps a complete withdrawal of US forces from the peninsula (and the regime will always consider what has happened to Saddam, Qaddafi, and Ukraine and their nuclear programs - and weapons in the case of Ukraine) . Leaving the peninsula of course is a non-starter because the security of the ROK could not be guaranteed without the deterrent capability of the ROK/US military alliance because the north is much more likely to attack the ROK when US forces leave. We have more than sixty years of evidence that that is its intent. This is perhaps a diplomatic and security Catch-22.
(LEAD) S. Korea, China confirm joint stance on N.K. nuclear issue
2015/01/23 19:45Twee
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang met in Seoul Friday, agreeing that the two countries will continue working closely on the resumption of multilateral talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Park's office said.
Wang, who arrived in Seoul Thursday for a three-day visit, also delivered a message from Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying the neighbors should deepen their strategic partnership and make efforts to revive the stalled six-party denuclearization talks, it said.
The aid-for-disarmament talks, which involve the two Koreas, China, the U.S., Japan and Russia, were last held in late 2008 before Pyongyang dropped out in protest of U.N. sanctions levied against it.
Park said she hopes Seoul and Beijing will continue to seek "creative and varied" means to resume the talks and work closely to form a "virtuous circle" involving North Korea's denuclearization and improved inter-Korean ties.
China is North Korea's largest political ally and economic benefactor.
Touching on inter-Korean relations, Park's office said that Xi "positively evaluated reciprocal offers" for dialogue that the two Koreas have recently made.
South Korea is waiting for a response from the North over its December proposal to hold high-level talks on pending issues such as a reunion for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
The North has yet to officially respond to that overture, but North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said in his New Year address that he is open to holding a summit with Park this year if conditions are met.
Park and Wang also exchanged views on economic and cultural ties between South Korea and China, as the sides have yet to sign a bilateral free trade agreement reached last November and 2015 has been named the "Year of Visit to China." the presidential office said in a news release.
Wang visited Seoul to attend the launch ceremony for the tourism campaign.
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