Six-party talks totter into no man's land
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-08-04 07:00

BEIJING - Six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear crisis totter into a 10th day on Thursday with parties appearing no closer to agreement on the scrapping of Pyongyang's nuclear programs.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and top U.S. negotiator for the six-party talks Christopher Hill speaks to journalists at a hotel in Beijing August 3, 2005. [Reuters]

Three previous rounds of talks failed to end the crisis, and -- meeting for the fourth time in two years -- negotiators from the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and host China appeared to be hurtling toward another abortive outcome after failing to reach agreement on even a bland joint statement.

Japan's chief negotiator, Kenichiro Sasae, has declared that another round of talks without agreement would call the entire Beijing talks process into question -- an outcome which could tempt Washington to take the issue to the U.N. Security Council.

That option has been opposed by China, which has much at stake as host of the six-party talks, and by North Korea, which has denounced the possibility of U.N. sanctions as tantamount to war.

Weary envoys to marathon talks on the crisis agreed to meet for a 10th day on Thursday as China battled to save the six-party process from collapse.

With discussions deadlocked over ways of ending North Korea's weapons programs, the hosts offered a new draft of a proposed joint statement of basic principles on which success now hangs.

Pyongyang has demanded energy aid, security guarantees and diplomatic recognition in return for scrapping its nuclear programs. Washington has insisted the programs are jettisoned before the concessions flow.

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