Three parties to meet on talks
( 2003-12-03 00:27) (Agencies)
Diplomats from the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will meet in Washington this week to fine-tune their positions ahead of six-party talks aimed at persuading the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to scrap its nuclear weapons programmes, officials said Tuesday.
The allies will work toward a joint strategy Thursday, when ROK Assistant Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck meets his Japanese counterpart Mitoji Yabunaka and US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly.
News of the meetings comes amid a flurry of diplomatic efforts to arrange a fresh round of the six-party talks.
The United States, Russia, China, Japan, the DPRK and the ROK had hoped to hold the talks this month, but no date has been set. A first round in Beijing ended in August.
Japan, the ROK and the United States are currently trying to draft an accord for the six nations to sign at the end of the next round, ROK Foreign Ministry has said.
Seoul believes it's important for the next round to produce a written agreement, upon which future pacts could be built.
Delegates from Japan, the ROK and the United States will also hold bilateral meetings scheduled Wednesday, an ROK Foreign Ministry official said on the condition of anonymity.
While details of any draft accord are unconfirmed, Japan's Kyodo news agency has reported that it would likely have all six participants agree on four basic points - including a DPRK agreement to abandon its nuclear programme and allow inspections - while the five other countries provide the DPRK with security guarantees.
Other points could concern the DPRK's missile programme, with an agreement by all participants to avoid aggravating the situation.
International concerns were raised last year when US officials said the DPRK had admitted to secretly running a nuclear programme in violation of international agreements.
The DPRK said last month it was building more atomic bombs, adding to the one or two it's believed to have already.
The DPRK on Monday urged the United States to accept its own proposal for a "package solution,'' in which a DPRK pledge to dismantle its nuclear programmes would come at the same time as a security guarantee from Washington.
The United States has said it wants the DPRK to make the first move.
The DPRK Government in Pyongyang has rejected Washington's stance, saying it would "rather die'' than submit to conditions that amount to "slavery.''
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