N. Korea Nuke Talks May Break Down

Chosun Ilbo reports “few signs of progress . . . ,” and that the Chinese may even adjourn the talks early. And then?

Since the last round of talks, the U.S. delegation has been saying, “After Christopher Hill, it’s John Bolton,” shorthand for referring the matter to the UN Security Council. Bolton is regarded as the most hawkish of the Bush administration’s neocons. As UN ambassador, he handles his country’s duties in the Security Council. He has described North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as a “tyrannical dictator” who made North Korea a “hellish nightmare”–a compliment Pyongyang returned by calling him “human scum” and a “bloodsucker.”

Which will mainly serve to illustrate China’s hostile agenda and the futility of seeking resolution through the United Nations, but I suppose it’s a prerequisite now.

Reuters, via the N.Y. Times, reports “North Korea Talks on Verge of Collapse After Three Days.”

Failure to reach an accord at the Beijing talks could prompt the United States to take the issue to the U.N. Security Council and press for sanctions. China opposes such a move, and communist North Korea has said sanctions would be tantamount to war.

After three days of talks, the U.S. and North Korean delegations were as far apart as ever. “There wasn’t any progress today,” chief U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill told reporters after a 90-minute meeting with the North Koreans. “The DPRK made very clear that they will not dismantle the existing nuclear programs until they receive a light-water reactor. No delegation is prepared to offer North Korea a light-water reactor.”

North Korea also continues to stand firmly on its up-the-ante demand for light-water reactors, an escalation from its previous demand to retain “peaceful uses” of nuclear energy, something that I’ve previously noted is not the absolute right North Korea claims it to be.