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CONDITIONAL COMMITMENT
Denuclearization Should Be Ultimate Goal

The Korea Times, October 6, 2009

Kim Jong-il said Monday Pyongyang could return to the six-party talks, depending on the progress of its bilateral talks with the United States.

The North Korean leader's mention of the six-nation meeting which he previously called the multilateral conference seems to be the only visible outcome of the highly publicized visit to Pyongyang by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao ― as far as the North's nuclear issue is concerned.

It is not even certain whether the communist regime would directly come back to the six-way negotiation or try to set more intermediary stages even if the outcome of the one-on-one talks with the United States proves to be satisfactory.

Chances are high that the Dear Leader can no longer rule out the six-country forum ― sponsored by Beijing and favored by Washington ― to prevent further aggravation of the North's relationship with its biggest donor and backer on the international stage. So it appears natural for both Seoul and Washington to express a guarded welcome about the seemingly positive turn after a yearlong impasse.

Anyway, the ball seems to be in the court of the U.S., which should decide when to dispatch President Obama's nuclear envoy, Stephen Bosworth, to Pyongyang and under what conditions.

(...) [artículo aquí]