Six-party talks on North Korean nuclear program reach dead end

In September 2005, North Korea agreed to a joint statement of principles for resolving the protracted standoff over its nuclear programs. But it refused to attend further six-party talks after the US pressured the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA) to freeze North Korean funds. While Washington claimed that the financial ban was not linked to the nuclear talks, North Korea regarded it as an obvious sign of bad faith aimed at further crippling its isolated, backward economy.

With talks stalled, North Korea upped the ante, firstly by conducting a missile test in July, then by testing its first nuclear device in October. The Bush administration immediately seized on the nuclear test to push through a UN Security Council resolution imposing a series of bans on North Korea, including the interception of its vessels on the high seas. North Korea only agreed to return to the six-party talks this month under pressure from China, which is keen to prevent a further US escalation of the crisis.

US officials hinted that they were seeking to make progress in the talks. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice indicated that the US could reconsider some of the financial sanctions. According to South Korea’s Yonhap newsagency, US chief negotiator Christopher Hill met with his North Korean counterpart and offered a series of incentives if Pyongyang were willing to shut down its small nuclear research reactor. But no compromise was reached.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2006/dec2006/kore-d28.shtml