As should have been expected, this week’s inter-Korean ministerial talks held in Pyongyang ended with no progress being made on the nuclear issue. According to the Korea Times:
The 12th Inter-Korean Ministerial Talks ended in a virtual stalemate Friday with the two Koreas failing to make progress on resolving the ongoing nuclear standoff.
Wrapping up four days of tedious negotiations, the two sides adopted a four-sentence joint media release containing no mention of the nuclear issue. It is the first time since the nuclear crisis surfaced last October that the cabinet-level talks have yielded no progress on the issue.
The first time that they have yielded no progress? Perhaps I haven’t been following things as closely as I should, but I was unaware that inter-Korean dialogue had yielded any progress at all on the nuclear issue (I direct you to my July 12 post on the 11th Inter-Korean Ministerial Talks). I mean, aren’t these the times when the North tells the South to fuck off - the nuclear issue doesn’t concern you - but send food and fertilizer?
The two sides, however, agreed to hold a seventh Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee early next month in Pyongyang.
Can’t get the Norks to bend on the nuclear issue, but they’re always ready for “inter-Korean economic cooperation.”
Seoul’s negotiators, led by Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun, returned home on a chartered flight from Pyongyang in the evening.
South Korean officials attributed the failure to realize progress at the talks to the North’s adherence to nuclear brinkmanship.
They said Pyongyang did not withdraw its demand that South Korea disband anti-North organizations and return political prisoners until the last minute.
“North Korea changed its position at the 11th ministerial talks that it can also discuss nuclear issue with the South,” Jeong said at a news conference after returning to Seoul.
Disband anti-North organizations? Can Pressian and OhMyNews say “interference in our internal affairs?”
Although the Southern delegation nudged Pyongyang to reconvene the six-way nuclear talks involving neighboring countries soon, North Korea apparently thought the situation wasn’t ripe for such an announcement, he added.
The North repeatedly blamed the United States for raising tensions and showing little sincerity to negotiate. Further raising the stakes, a spokesman from Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry hinted Thursday that his country may conduct nuclear tests.
“The North Koreans said their (Foreign Ministry statement) was aimed at luring the U.S. back to talks, and told us not to be too surprised,” the minister added.
Luring the US back to talks? Interesting way to put it. I think that tactic would be more accurately characterized as “pathetically trying to blackmail the world’s only superpower into accepting our definition of what constitute ‘talks’ .”
At the end of day, Jeong said Seoul decided to not to exert too much pressure for more results and left Pyongyang on schedule, a rarity in inter-Korean talks.
That’s right - why exert pressure when you can just sit back and let Washington take it up the rear instead?
The two sides reached no arrangement on a ninth round of inter-Korean family reunions, which South Korea wanted to stage by year’s end, nor on the reunion center and social-cultural exchange committee issues.
Gee, I guess South Korea is going to have to “economically cooperate” a little bit more, then.
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