中国: 朝鲜应该受到“惩罚”

Hu Envoy Tells Bush China Wants Strong Response To N Korea

--A special envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao told U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday that China wanted a strong U.N. response to North Korea's claimed nuclear test, a White House spokesman said.

Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan also indicated to Bush that China wants only sanctions related to North Korea's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, said the spokesman, Frederick Jones.

Tang also met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley at the White House, part of a flurry of diplomatic activity following North Korea's announcement that it had tested a nuclear device.

Chinese officials "also indicated an appreciation for the president's commitment to solving the situation by diplomatic means," Jones said. "We will continue to consult with the Chinese on the diplomatic way forward."

In China, the foreign ministry said China and the U.S. were discussing a possible visit to Beijing by Rice. The State Department had no details on Rice's travel plans.

Tang was also expected to meet with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. envoy to stalled North Korean nuclear negotiations.

Kim Jong Il's government in North Korea has said sanctions would be considered an act of war and threatened more nuclear tests if they were imposed.

China has joined other U.N. Security Council members in unanimously condemning North Korea's claimed test. But as North Korea's last major ally, Beijing hasn't agreed to severe sanctions backed by Washington.
唐家璇称希望联合国对朝鲜作出强硬反应

白宫发言人琼斯(Frederick Jones)称，中国国家主席胡锦涛的特别代表、国务委员唐家璇周四向美国总统布什(George W. Bush)表示，中国希望联合国对朝鲜进行核试验作出强硬反应。

琼斯称，唐家璇还表示，中国希望对朝鲜的制裁仅与其发展大规模杀伤性武器有关。

相关报导

? 朝鲜核试验令中国左右为难
? 中国在朝核问题上扮演关键角色
? 朝鲜宣布成功进行了核试验
? 中国“坚决反对”朝鲜进行核试验
唐家璇还在白宫会见了美国国务卿赖斯(Condoleezza Rice)和白宫国家安全顾问哈德利(Stephen Hadley)，这是自朝鲜宣布进行核试验以来频繁外交活动的一部分。

琼斯表示，中方官员还对总统布什坚持通过外交手段解决朝核问题表示了感谢。他说，美方将继续与中方保持协商，为解决朝核问题付出更大的外交努力。

中国外交部还表示，中美正在讨论安排赖斯访华的事宜。

美国证实:朝鲜加入核俱乐部

N Korea joins nuclear club as US confirms test

The US confirmed yesterday that North Korea last week conducted a nuclear explosion, making the Stalinist nation the eighth country to join the so-called nuclear club.

The office of the Director of National Intelligence said air samples collected after the October 9 explosion in North Korea confirmed that Pyongyang had conducted an underground nuclear explosion with a sub-kiloton yield.


ADVERTISEMENT
North Korea joins the US, Russia, France, Britain, China - which are members of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty - India and Pakistan as countries that are known to have tested nuclear weapons. Israel is also believed to possess nuclear arms.

The confirmation means that the stalled six-party talks aimed at resolving nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula will now have to focus on nuclear disarmament as opposed to stopping North Korea's nuclear programme.

Separately yesterday, Thomas Schieffer, US ambassador to Japan, said a resumption of six-party talks would not be sufficient to justify ending sanctions against North Korea. "A return to six-party talks kind of doesn't do it," Mr Schieffer told reporters, referring to the discussions that collapsed a year ago involving China, Japan, South Korea and Russia, as well as North Korea and the US.

Instead, the international community was demanding "the ability to verify that the North Koreans were indeed giving up their nuclear weapons programme", he said. "Then I think you would see a walking back from the sanctions regime. But there's a long way to go before that."

Mr Schieffer conceded that China and South Korea came to the North Korean issue with "different agendas" from Japan and the US, which are seen as taking a harder line. However, he said sticking to the six-party format increased the chance that they would speak with one voice and prevent Pyongyang from trying to divide them.

Analysts are sceptical about whether the US remains committed to the six-party framework, arguing that Washington is uncomfortable operating in a forum with such diverse opinions.

On Beijing's appetite to impose punitive and lengthy sanctions, Mr Schieffer said: "The Chinese have been very helpful in this process at the UN. You have to take them at their word. They voted for the resolution, which contemplates sanctions."

North Korea must be made aware that it could still "back away from the abyss", he said. The US would be prepared to offer some kind of "regime guarantee" in return for assurances that Pyongyang was giving up its weapons programme.

The ambassador said the US remained open to direct contact from Pyongyang through a variety of informal channels. "If North Korea wanted to deliver a message to us that they were prepared to forego nuclear weapons, there are a lot of places they could do that. We answer the phone in many parts of the world, but it hasn't been ringing," he said.

Mr Schieffer said he did not believe there was a strong move in Japan to "go nuclear" in response to the North Korean threat despite weekend calls from a senior politician to open a discussion on the subject.

Yasuhisa Shiozaki, chief cabinet secretary, said Japan had no plans to change its ban on nuclear weapons. Mr Schieffer said that, as long as Japan believed the US remained prepared to "trade New York for Tokyo", an independent nuclear deterrent would not make it any safer. "This is not a new situation for Japan. We have been here for 50 years."

Australia said it would go beyond the UN resolution by banning North Korean ships from entering its ports.Additional reporting by -Virginia Marsh in Sydney
美国证实:朝鲜加入核俱乐部

美国昨日证实，朝鲜上周实施了核爆炸，使这个斯大林主义国家成为“核俱乐部”第八个成员国。

美国国家情报主任(Director of National Intelligence)办公室表示，在朝鲜10月9日爆炸后采集的大气样本证实，朝鲜进行了一次低于1000吨TNT当量的地下核爆炸。

朝鲜加入了美国、俄罗斯、法国、英国、中国、印度和巴基斯坦的行列，成为进行过核武试验的国家。据信，以色列也拥有核武器。美、俄、法、英、中5国是《不扩散核武器条约》(nuclear non-proliferation treaty)的缔约国。

美国的证实意味着，旨在解决朝鲜半岛核紧张局势的六方会谈，如今关注的重点将不得不从阻止朝鲜的核计划，转向解除核武器。六方会谈目前陷于搁置状态。

另外，美国驻日本大使托马斯?希弗(Thomas Schieffer)昨日表示，恢复六方会谈不足以说明应当结束对朝鲜的制裁。在谈到一年前破裂的会谈时，希弗告诉记者：“重返六方会谈本身并不管用。”参与六方会谈的国家分别是中国、日本、韩国、俄罗斯、朝鲜和美国。

相反，国际社会现在要求“有能力证实朝鲜确实在放弃核武器计划”，希弗表示。“然后，我认为你们就会看到制裁措施的逐步取消。但在此之前，有很长的路要走。”

希弗承认，在朝鲜问题上，中国和韩国与被视为态度强硬的日本和美国有着“不同的议程”。然而，他表示，坚持六方会谈模式，增加了它们“以一个声音说话、防止平壤分化它们”的可能性。

分析人士怀疑美国是否会继续致力于六方会谈框架。他们认为，华盛顿不适应在一个分歧如此大的论坛内运作。

在北京是否愿意对朝实施长期惩罚制裁的问题上，希弗表示：“中国人对联合国的这一进程给予了很大帮助。你必须相信他们的话。他们投票赞成联合国决议，而该决议是要求实施制裁的。”

希弗表示，朝鲜必须明白，它仍然可以“从深渊边回头”。美国准备提供某种形式的“不推翻现政权保证”，以换取平壤放弃核武计划的保证。

这位大使表示，通过各种非正式渠道，美国仍对来自朝鲜政府的直接接触敞开着大门。他表示：“如果朝鲜希望向我们传递信息，表示他们准备放弃核武器，那么他们有许多地方可以这么做。我们在全球许多地方都会接电话，但迄今铃声尚未响起。”

澳大利亚表示，它将实施比联合国决议更严厉的制裁，禁止朝鲜船舶进入澳大利亚港口。澳大利亚是少数几个与朝鲜政府有外交关系的西方国家之一，同时也是美国在亚太地区最重要的防卫同盟。

联合国拟制裁金正日奢华生活
UN sanctions set to sour Kim's taste for the finer things in life

Are Big Macs and shark fin soup luxury goods? What about James Bond films. Or roasted donkeys? This is the sort of question the United Nations Security Council will grapple with as it starts to define the sanctions to be imposed on North Korea and its idiosyncratic leader, Kim Jong-il, for last week's nuclear test.

The security council resolution on sanctions prohibits the sale or transfer of material that could be used to make weapons of mass destruction and missiles, as well as still-to-be-determined "luxury goods". Stories of Mr Kim's largesse suggest there is considerable scope for definition.


ADVERTISEMENT
Konstantin Pulikovsky, a Russian official who accompanied Mr Kim on a month-long train journey across Russia in 2001, wrote that live lobsters were flown on to the train, as well as donkey, reportedly the North Korean leader's favourite food.

"It was possible to order any dish of Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and French cuisine," Mr Pulikovsky wrote. Such a menu could create problems for three of the five permanent security council members. Mr Kim has a penchant for shark fin soup and reportedly ordered McDonald's hamburgers from Beijing.

Kenji Fujimoto, the pseudonym of the Japanese author of I was Kim Jong-il's Sushi Chef, told of being sent to Iran and Uzbekistan for caviar, to Denmark for pork and Thailand to buy mangoes for Mr Kim.

Other chefs recall a 10,000-bottle wine cellar, while trade figures in the early 1990s revealed that Mr Kim was the largest single consumer of Hennessy cognac, importing more than $650,000 worth a year.

The North Korean leader is said to have a library of 20,000 Hollywood movies and to buy his family expensive imported toys including jet skis, karaoke machines and basketball courts.

Analysts said the sanctions aimed at clamping down on luxury goods would crimp Mr Kim's ability to pamper those who keep him in power. "This reflects the desire of the Americans to put pressure on Kim Jong-il and his supporters, whom he controls by rewarding them with high-class goods such as caviar and watches," said Nam Sung-wook, a North Korean specialist at Korea University in Seoul.

Analysts said the outline of the sanctions did not appear sufficient to change North Korea's behaviour. Scott Snyder, a Korea specialist at the Asia Foundation, said it was premature to say they would have no bite because they had yet to be defined.

"It's all about defining this vague statement and finding the space between punitive and prudent," Mr Snyder said. "China is going to be the guiding force."
联合国拟制裁金正日奢华生活


“巨无霸”汉堡(Big Mac)和鱼翅羹算是奢侈品吗？那詹姆斯?邦德(James Bond)电影呢？这是联合国安理会(United Nations Security Council)苦苦思索的一类问题，因为该机构将开始详细界定制裁的内容，为上周的核试验惩治朝鲜及其行为古怪的领导人金正日(Kim Jong-il)。

安理会的制裁决议禁止出售或运送可用于制造大规模杀伤性武器和导弹的材料，同时尚有待确定的“奢侈品”也在被禁之列。而各种有关金正日慷慨赏赐的传言意味着，有待界定的奢华品范围相当广泛。

俄罗斯官员康斯坦丁?普利科夫斯基(Konstantin Pulikovsky) 曾于2001年陪同金正日在俄火车旅行一个月，他写道，列车上有空运的活龙虾，还有驴子，据说这都是金正日最喜欢的食品。


普利科夫斯基写道：“当时可以点到任何一种俄罗斯菜、中餐、韩餐、日餐和法餐。”这样的菜单可能会使安理会五大常任理事国中的三国为难。金正日非常钟爱鱼翅羹，据说还从北京定购麦当劳(McDonalds)汉堡。

《我曾是金正日的寿司厨师》(I was Kim Jong-il’s Sushi Chef)一书的作者、笔名为“藤本健二”(Kenji Fujimoto)的日本厨师谈到，自己曾被派往伊朗和乌兹别克斯坦为金正日采购鱼子酱，去丹麦采购猪肉，去泰国购买芒果。

另外一些厨师回忆道，金正日有一个贮有1万瓶酒的酒窖，而20世纪90年代初的贸易数字表明，金正日是轩尼诗干邑(Hennessy cognac)的最大个人消费者，每年花在进口这种顶级葡萄酒上的钱超过了65万美元。

据说这位朝鲜领导人收藏了2万部好莱坞电影，还为家人购买昂贵的进口玩具，包括水上摩托艇、卡拉OK机和篮球场。

分析人士表示，上述对奢侈品的制裁措施，将使金正日笼络手下拥戴者的能力大打折扣。首尔高丽大学(Korea University)专家Nam Sung-wook表示：“这反映出美国想对金正日和他的支持者施加压力，金正日就是通过奖赏鱼子酱、手表等一些高级物品来控制他们的。”

US and China at odds over N Korea cargo

The US insisted on Monday on the right to intercept suspicious North Korean cargo under the authority of the UN Security Council resolution passed on Saturday, setting the stage for a difficult trip to Asia for Condoleezza Rice this week.

As the US secretary of state prepared to leave for talks in Japan, China, South Korea and Russia, US intelligence said air samples it had collected confirmed North Korea’s claim to have carried out an underground nuclear test last Monday.


ADVERTISEMENT
Describing resolution 1718 passed unanimously as “a very powerful tool”, Ms Rice said it made possible the “interdiction of dangerous and suspicious cargo”.

“We expect every member of the international community to fully implement all aspects of this resolution and we expect the Security Council to aggressively monitor the process,” she said.

However, Wang Guangya, China’s ambassador to the UN, disagreed, telling reporters: “Inspections yes, but inspections are different from interception and interdiction.”

He said the resolution did not make it mandatory for all nations to inspect cargo going to and from North Korea. States could carry out such an operation as necessary “in accordance with their national legal authorities”, he said.

Kim Holmes, a former senior US official who dealt with North Korea and the UN and is now vice-president of the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington, appeared to concur with the Chinese interpretation, saying the resolution did not approve the use of force needed for interdiction. The resolution speaks of inspection, not interdiction.

China had succeeded in watering down the resolution in a week of debate, by insisting that inspections also required the “co-operation” of North Korea, Mr Holmes said.

Ms Rice said she would discuss how to design “a practical architecture for detecting and screening” dangerous materials.

Dismissing the notion of differences with China, she said: “I am not concerned that the Chinese are going to turn their backs on their obligations. I don’t think they would have voted for a resolution that they did not intend to carry through on.”

China had already started checking North Korean trucks crossing its border, Nicholas Burns, under-secretary of state, commented.

Ms Rice repeated that the US was ready to hold talks with North Korea if it returned to the six-party forum mediated by China.

“My goal on this trip is, certainly, to reiterate that we’re prepared to return to the talks. But North Korea also needs to understand?.?.?.? that they will pay a price here,” she said.

North Korea becomes the ninth state believed to possess a nuclear weapon, although it is not widely thought to have perfected the process needed to deliver one by missile.

Iran as a potential customer of nuclear materials is the Bush administration’s greatest concern. Senior US officials are visiting Gulf allies this week to prepare for naval exercises testing their joint ability to intercept North Korean ships bound for Iran.

“The Iranian government is watching and it can now see that the international community will respond to threats from nuclear proliferation,” Ms Rice told reporters.

Later this week the US is expected to table a draft Security Council resolution that seeks to impose sanctions on Iran for rejecting a UN demand that it suspend its nuclear fuel cycle programme. US officials said they expect tough negotiations with China and Russia.

Yasuhisa Shiozaki, chief cabinet secretary, said Monday Japan had no plans to change its ban on nuclear weapons. Thomas Schieffer, US ambassador to Japan, said that, as long as Japan believed the US remained prepared to “trade New York for Tokyo”, an independent nuclear deterrent would not make it any safer. “This is not a new situation for Japan. We have been here for 50 years.”

Australia

Fears ofanother nuclear test by N Korea

The South Korean government yesterday said it had detected activity suggesting that North Korea might be preparing to conduct a second nuclear test, as concerns mounted that Kim Jong-il's regime might again defy international pressure.

Amid a flurry of diplomatic meetings - and reports that China has begun taking tough action against its errant neighbour - North Korea issued another statement calling United Nations sanctions imposed following last week's nuclear test a "declaration of war".


ADVERTISEMENT
"The DPRK vehemently denounces the resolution, a product of the US hostile policy toward the DPRK, and totally refutes it," the North Korean foreign ministry said, referring to the country by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Pyongyang said it would "closely follow the future US attitude" and warned: "The US would be well advised not to miscalculate the DPRK." Even a few months ago such threats would probably have been dismissed as more sabre-rattling, but these statements are now being taken more seriously following its decision to go ahead with missile and nuclear tests.

US television networks reported overnight that US spy satellites had detected "suspicious vehicle movements" that could signal preparations for another test.

A senior South Korean government official confirmed that there were signs of unusual activity near the site of the first test in northern North Korea. "We are keeping a close eye on that place," he said.

China said it was "resolutely opposed" to a second test, with Liu Jianchao, foreign ministry spokesman, saying Beijing hoped North Korea would adopt "a responsible attitude and come back to resolving the issue through dialogue and consultation".

Fears of a second test have been stoked by the arrival of Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, in north-east Asia for discussions on how to deal with the crisis. The first test was conducted as Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, arrived in Seoul last Monday. China and South Korea are considered unlikely to squeeze the North too hard for fear of causing a collapse.
朝鲜可能第二次核试验

韩国政府昨日表示，它已探测到的活动表明，朝鲜也许准备实施第二次核试验。人们目前开始担忧，金正日(Kim Jong-il)政权可能会再次蔑视国际压力。

各方正召开一连串外交会议，而且有报道称，中国已开始对这个行为不端的邻国采取严厉措施。但就在这个时候，朝鲜发表了又一份措词尖锐的声明，将联合国在其上周核试验后实施的制裁称为“宣战”。

就在几个月前，这种威胁也许会被当作金正日政权的又一次宣传造势，而不为国际社会所理会，但在朝鲜执意进行导弹和核试验之后，这些声明如今受到了更认真的对待。


据美国电视网前夜报道，美国侦察卫星探测到“可疑的车辆来往”，可能表明朝鲜准备进行另一次核试验。韩国政府一位高级官员证实，在朝鲜北部进行第一次核试验的地点附近，有异常活动的迹象。他表示：“我们正密切关注该地区。”

中国表示“坚决反对”第二次核试验。中国外交部发言人刘建超表示，中国政府希望朝鲜采取“负责任的态度，回到通过对话和协商解决朝鲜半岛核问题的正确轨道上来”。

美国国务卿康多莉扎?赖斯(Condoleezza Rice)将出访东北亚，商讨如何解决此次危机，这加剧了人们对第二次核试验的担忧。朝鲜的第一次核试验，安排在上周一日本新任首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)抵达首尔之时。

在对联合国的制裁表示支持后，中国似乎已对朝鲜采取了严厉措施。

刘建超昨日否认了中国在执行制裁方面会有所退缩。他表示：“作为安理会常任理事国，中方一直认真、负责任地执行安理会的有关决议，这次也不例外，中方将根据决议要求处理有关问题。”

尽管中国和韩国都表示支持制裁，但外界认为，由于担心出现边境问题，中韩两国不太可能对朝鲜施加太大压力。

然而有报道称，中国银行(Bank of China)的某些分行已停止向朝鲜汇款，还有，中朝边境设置了看上去是新的铁丝网。

Threat of New Nuclear Test Looms As Rice Heads to Northeast Asia

Military intelligence agents and diplomats around Asia watched North Korea for more signs that it might test a second nuclear device just as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is set to arrive in the region to discuss enforcing penalties against the North's regime for its first test.

Government officials in the U.S. said that truck movement and other activity spotted in satellite pictures of North Korea indicate that preparations for another test explosion may be under way.

NUCLEAR STANDOFF


? Air Samples Confirm Nuclear Test

? Japan Wrestles With Its Position

? Text of U.N. Resolution

? World Reactions

? Who Has Nukes

? Complete coverage

Political representatives in several countries neighboring North Korea said the U.S. provided the intelligence reports to them. A senior South Korean government official said the country was analyzing its own intelligence data but hadn't detected any "provocative actions."

Leaders from China and Russia warned North Korea not to aggravate the situation further. "I believe North Korea won't conduct a second test -- and it shouldn't," Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said during a visit in Seoul.

U.S. officials worried that a second test might upstage Ms. Rice's visit to the region, which begins in Tokyo Wednesday. She will visit South Korea Thursday, China on Friday and Russia on Saturday.


Ms. Rice is trying to build a consensus on enforcing sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council, which include a ban on trade of nuclear-weapons components and all luxury goods. The Security Council resolution requires U.N. member states to seize funds and ban travel for officials involved in North Korea's nuclear program. And the measure increases the ability of states to inspect cargo, though not by military means. Instead, the resolution called for "cooperative action" on cargo inspection. (Full text of the resolution.)

Ms. Rice is also likely to ask South Korea and China to join an anti-proliferation initiative begun by the U.S. in 2003 and take steps toward greater security cooperation in the region, possibly creating in Northeast Asia an alliance like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

China and South Korea, which have long borders with North Korea, are wary of taking steps that might collapse the impoverished country, sending refugees their way and creating chaos. Both countries are reluctant to join the anti-proliferation initiative, which calls for boarding ships suspected of carrying nuclear weapons components.

However, China on Monday began examining trucks at the North Korean border to comply with new U.N. sanctions. South Korea has said it will comply with the resolution, but it hasn't taken any steps yet.

Meanwhile, North Korea's dictatorial regime issued its first official statement since the U.N. resolution was passed Saturday, saying it considered the sanctions to be a "declaration of war." The statement said it's "nonsensical" for other countries to expect it to yield to pressure after becoming a "nuclear weapons state."

Chun Yung Woo, the South Korean envoy to the six-nation talks over the North Korean nuclear issue, said the North's statement amounted to the "usual rhetoric."
亚洲关注朝鲜核试验新动向

就在美国国务卿赖斯(Condoleezza Rice)出访东亚讨论对朝鲜前不久进行的核试验实施制裁之际，亚洲各国的军事情报人员及外交人员也在关注更多有关朝鲜可能进行第二次核试验的迹象。

朝鲜相关报导

? 美国求诸亚洲国家共同制裁朝鲜
? 朝鲜核试验令中国左右为难
? 朝鲜宣布成功进行了核试验
美国白宫一位官员说，卫星图像显示，朝鲜可能正在准备进行第二次核试验。

朝鲜几个邻国的政府代表透露，美国政府向他们提供了相关情报。一位韩国官员表示，他们正在分析自己的情报数据，但尚未发现任何“挑衅活动”。

中国和俄罗斯领导人周二警告朝鲜，（在10月9日进行地下核试验之后）不要再加剧形势的恶化。俄罗斯总统普京周二访问首尔时表示，相信朝鲜不会再次进行核试验，而且它也不应这么做。

美国官员担心，第二次核试验可能会让赖斯的亚洲之行陷入尴尬。赖斯周二抵达访问的第一站东京，今天到周六，她还将先后访问韩国、中国和俄罗斯。

赖斯希望通过访问与有关国家就执行联合国安理会制裁朝鲜决议达成共识。决议要求，禁止向朝鲜输入与核武器有关的零部件以及所有奢侈品。

上周六通过的这项安理会决议还要求联合国成员国冻结相关资金、并禁止朝鲜与核计划有关的官员外出旅行。决议扩大了成员国在以非军事手段检查出口货物方面的权限，呼吁有关方面在货物检查方面“采取合作”。

赖斯可能还会要求韩国和中国加入美国2003年发起的核不扩散计划，并在加强地区安全合作方面采取行动，乃至在东北亚地区建立一个类似北大西洋公约组织(NATO)的联盟。

中国和韩国均与朝鲜有很长的边界线，他们在制裁朝鲜的问题上非常谨慎，担心某些制裁措施可能导致经济极端贫困的朝鲜因此垮台、进而造成大量难民涌入自己的国家。这两个国家也不愿加入核不扩散计划，该计划要求对被怀疑装有核武器零部件的船只实行登船检查。

不过，为落实安理会决议，中国周一已开始在边境检查进入朝鲜的卡车。韩国也表示将执行决议，但尚未采取任何行动。

与此同时，朝鲜在安理会通过制裁决议后首次发表声明，称它将把制裁视为“宣战”。声明说，在朝鲜成为“核国家”之后，其他国家如果还指望它会屈从于压力是很荒谬的想法。

参与“六方会谈”的韩国首席谈判代表千英宇(Chun Yung Woo)说，朝鲜的声明是“正常的口头回应”。

Evan Ramstad

平壤急转弯 北京是关键
China key as Pyongyang returns to talks

North Korea’s agreement to return to the six-party talks is more likely to be a tactical move than a strategic decision to give up its new-found nuclear status, analysts said on Tuesday.

The surprise diplomatic breakthrough, just three weeks after Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test, suggests the US is showing more flexibility just as China has become more tough on its errant neighbour.


ADVERTISEMENT
The US on Tuesday hailed the return to talks as a vindication of the policy of letting those countries with most leverage apply pressure on North Korea rather than pursuing a bilateral approach. “This is a vindication of the strategy the president has adopted,” said Tony Snow, White House spokesman. “You’ll notice who made the announcement: the Chinese.”

President George W.?Bush had earlier said he was pleased with progress represented by the United Nations action against North Korea. He confirmed that the US would send teams to the region to ensure the resultant resolution was enforced.

Mr Bush gave credit to China for its role in renewing talks. “I want to thank the Chinese for encouraging the meeting that got the agreement to get the six-party talks restarted.”

Christopher Hill, the US’s chief negotiator in the talks, said the US had agreed to discuss the financial sanctions imposed last year during the next round of talks, possibly through the creation of a “working group”.

The talks

朝鲜同意重返六方会谈
Pyongyang agrees to resume N-talks

North Korea on Tuesday surprisingly agreed to return to the six-party talks on its nuclear programme, just three weeks after it conducted its first nuclear test.

In returning to the talks, analysts say North Korea probably bowed to growing pressure from China, its largest benefactor and closest political ally. China’s foreign ministry said that Pyongyang’s agreement to resume the talks followed a “frank and in-depth” exchange of views.


ADVERTISEMENT
As the world’s big powers work through the details of how to punish Kim Jong-il’s regime for the test on October 9, Christopher Hill, the chief US negotiator in the talks, said on Tuesday that the negotiations