Is It Over Yet?
Almost. The six-nation talks appear to have deadlocked:
North Korea’s main envoy said Tuesday that his country won’t give up its nuclear weapons until an alleged U.S. nuclear threat against the communist nation is eliminated, the first public comments from the North after eight days of six-party negotiations.
. . . .
The North has alleged the United States has nuclear weapons in South Korea, a claim both Seoul and Washington deny. However, the North could also be referring to other American forces across the region, where the U.S. military has maintained a strong presence since the end of World War II.
Irresistable force, meet immovable object. Here’s just a survey of what the talkers are saying:
- Japan: “I can’t say discussions on the wording of the agreement are going smoothly. . . . North Korea continues to deny that it has a uranium enrichment program.”
- United States (Amb. Chris Hill): “I don’t know where we go with this. . . . We’ll stay here as long as we feel we’re making progress. . . . If we’re not making progress, we’re not going to stay.” [quotes from Monday and Tuesday]
- South Korea: “In the current situation, we are almost running out of wisdom.”
- China: “It will be difficult to reach an agreement in this state. Let the participant nations reconfirm whether they have the will to compromise and decide whether to continue with the talks or stop.
What he meant to say was “we are almost running out of cash and megawatts.”