U.S., North Korea Reach No Agreement on Six-Nation Talks
U.S., North Korean and Chinese officials ended a second day of talks in Beijing today without reaching accord on when to restart six-nation negotiations to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Nov. 28).
Diplomats at today's meeting 'shared ideas that could help ensure progress when the six-party talks resume,' said a U.S. statement. 'The D.P.R.K. promised to study these ideas.' (((Wow. Man, people sure sit up and take notice when the US State Department comes 'round.)))
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill planned to leave Beijing tomorrow without meeting North Korean officials again, AP reported. This week’s session appeared to feature few, if any, changes to U.S. and North Korean demands, according to AP.
Pyongyang has protested U.S. financial measures imposed last year as well as recent U.N. penalties issued after North Korea’s October nuclear test. The United States agreed that the sanctions could be discussed during the resumed talks, but would not be dropped as a condition for restarting the talks, AP reported (Audra Ang, Associated Press I/USA Today, Nov. 29).
As part of the U.N. sanctions, the Bush administration is proposing to target leader Kim Jong Il by restricting the sale of luxury goods to North Korea, according to AP. A list of proposed items to be banned includes iPods, cognac, Rolex watches, cigarettes and motor sports vehicles.
Banning these items could frustrate Kim personally — he is said to enjoy luxury activities — and his ability to reward loyalists in his government, AP reported.
"If you take away one of the tools of his control, perhaps you weaken the cohesion of his leadership," said former State Department nonproliferation official Robert Einhorn. "It can't hurt, but whether it works, we don't know." (((Do you think that if you no longer allowed K Street lobbyists to give expensive treats to Congressmen, the remaining loyalists would flee in droves from the Bush Administration? Maybe they wouldn't, but this certainly shows how contemporary Washington likes to think through the issue.)))
Other analysts doubted the embargo would prevent such goods from entering North Korea.
Small electronics are "untraceable and available all over the place," said William Reinsch, a former Commerce Department official. "The problem is there has always been and will always be this group of people who work at getting these goods illegally."
Still, Reinsch said, "It's a new concept. It's kind of creative" (Ted Bridis, Associated Press II/International Herald Tribune, Nov. 29). (((Yeah, it's "kind of creative." It's also kind of pathetic. All this former militant thundering against the Axis of Evil, and now that they've got a Bomb, the approach is to cunningly deprive the regime of bling-bling. I dunno, man... if the guy actually LIVES on cognac and Marlboros, maybe he'll invade South Korea just to get to the duty-free.)))
