Held August 27-29 in the Chinese capital of Beijing, the six-party negotiations coincided with Washington’s preparations for war games practicing the interception and boarding of ships from north Korea or other countries alleged to be carrying “weapons of mass destruction.”

“We need the complete, verifiable, and irreversible elimination of North Korea nuclear weapons programs,” said White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan August 28. She added, “We believe there’s been excellent cooperation…between the United States and China, Japan, South Korea, and Russia.”

Immediately after the talks ended, the Japanese Ministry of Defense proposed spending $1 billion annually through 2007 to build a U.S.-designed “missile-defense shield.” “Given recent behavior, we cannot discount the possibility that North Korea’s nuclear weapons program is already quite advanced,” said the ministry.

At the Beijing talks, Pyongyang advocated a “package of solutions,” stated the official north Korean news agency, the KCNA. They included a U.S.-DPRK nonaggression treaty and the establishment of diplomatic relations, in return for a halt to nuclear weapons development by the DPRK entry for weapons inspectors, and “an end to testing and exporting missiles.”

The DPRK also demanded that Washington cease obstructing regional “economic cooperation.” The U.S. government imposed an economic embargo on the north in 1950, the year in which U.S. armed forces led a massive imperialist invasion of the peninsula. After suffering its first-ever military defeat in the 1950-53 Korean War, U.S. imperialism embarked on a course to try to hold back the struggle for reunification and eventually overthrow the gains of the Korean revolution. Some 37,000 U.S. troops are stationed in the south to this day.

While expressing its willingness to return for more talks, the DPRK government protested Washington’s high-handed approach in the round just concluded. “The United States said that the next round of talks can continue if we express our willingness to give up our nuclear plans at this time,” the KCNA noted. “The United States insists that we take off our clothes until we get stark naked, while it refuses to move even one step,” said a later statement.

“If our reasonable proposal is turned aside,” said the KCNA on August 29, “we will judge that the U.S. does not intend to give up its attempt to stifle the DPRK by force at an appropriate time.

“In this case,” it continued, “the DPRK cannot dismantle its nuclear deterrent force but will have no option but to increase it.”

All parties had “reiterated that denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is the common goal of all sides,” said the Chinese foreign ministry on August 28.

The Chinese government has kept its distance from some of Washington’s stands, including President Bush’s call for the UN Security Council to condemn the DPRK, and usually takes a neutral position in public statements. At the same time, Beijing has made clear its opposition to Pyongyang’s nuclear development programs. “There will be twists and turns in the negotiations,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is leading Beijing’s team in the talks. However, he added, “the differences between North Korea and China are comprehensive and involve lots of different areas.” Beijing is in a position to bring substantial economic pressure to bear on north Korea. The July 4 Korea Times reported that China “supplies 70 percent of North Korea’s energy and 40 percent of its food.”

As the talks ended, Washington announced that U.S. and Australian warships will conduct exercises in mid-December to train the two navies in the interdiction and boarding of ships allegedly carrying “weapons of mass destruction.”

“Officials from the U.S. and other countries… have acknowledged that the likeliest targets would be North Korea or, possibly, Iran,” said the August 29 Chicago Tribune.
 
 
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U.S. troops out of Korea!  
 
 
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