Weekend talks between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in Geneva have brought brighter prospects for the Korean Peninsula's denuclearization process and the improvement of relations between the two hostile countries, analysts say.
The two sides have reached a preliminary consensus on the DPRK's nuclear declaration and disablement. The United States said the DPRK had agreed to fully declare and disable its nuclear programs by the end of 2007.
After the two-day meeting, DPRK's chief negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan confirmed that the DPRK had shown "clear willingness" in the talks to fully declare and disable its nuclear programs.
The United States also showed its willingness in the talks to provide the DPRK with political and economic compensation, Kim said.
U.S. chief negotiator, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill hailed the talks as "very good and substantive," and have "increased the possibility of success of the next round of six-party talks".
Besides the nuclear issue, the two sides also discussed bilateral relations, especially the key issue of removing the DPRK from a U.S. list of "state sponsors of terrorism," which the DPRK is most concerned about, and the U.S. ending its hostile policy towards the DPRK.
The two sides also discussed the possibility of establishing a legal system to ensure the peaceful coexistence of both countries.
The United States and the DPRK have shown high expectations for the talks, and deliberately shown to the public a warm and friendly meeting atmosphere over meals at exquisite restaurants and in their respective representative offices.
However, analysts say that though it's good news that the two sides have reached consensus on the next stage of action over the denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula, more concrete problems remain to be solved, which need joint efforts from all the six parties, which are the United States, the DPRK, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Japan and China.
For instance, both sides declined to explain the specific content of the "nuclear programs" that the DPRK is required to declare and disable. Hill said that the DPRK agreed to complete the declaration and disablement process by the end of 2007, yet Kim didn't mention the timetable while talking to the media. Hill also gave ambiguous answers regarding U.S. compensation to the DPRK for its cooperation.
On the issue of removing the DPRK from the U.S. list of "state sponsors of terrorism", Hill said the two sides had "very good discussions" on this issue, but he declined to be more specific. Besides, Hill also mentioned the importance of the DPRK-Japan relationship, asking the DPRK to make efforts to solve the so-called "kidnapping issue" which has haunted DPRK-Japan relations for years.
Having been hostile to each other for over 50 years, it's no easy job for the United States and the DPRK to break the ice quickly. As the Geneva talks help the two countries reach consensus on several key issues, the specific implementation of the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and the improvement of bilateral relations are to be discussed during the next round of six-party talks.
Source: Xinhua
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