America Is Preparing, under Appropriate Conditions, to Promote Restart of Six-Party Talks

U.S. Officials have recently said that America is preparing, under appropriate conditions, to promote the restart of Six-Party Talks.

On the same day, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth answered the Senate Foreign Relation Committee’s questions, saying America is diligently working on breaking the deadlock in Six-Party Talks on the North Korea nuclear issue, which have been at a standstill for the past two years.

“We’re very open to getting back to the table,” he said, “provided … that it’s done under the right set of circumstances.”

Bosworth says America needs to see “evidence that the agreements that we have reached with them in the past are agreements that they are now prepared to carry out.”

On September 19, 2005 during the fourth round of Six-Party Talks, each member of the Six-Party Talks on the North Korean nuclear issue agreed upon the joint statement. This joint statement includes North Korea agreeing to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and returning to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards as soon as possible.

Turning to humanitarian aid to North Korea, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that this issue was “still at the study phase” and that nothing has been decided.