Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




NUKEWARS
US, N. Korea talks end with little progress
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Feb 24, 2012


N. Korea brands Seoul nuclear summit a 'burlesque'
Seoul (AFP) Feb 24, 2012 - North Korea Friday blasted an upcoming nuclear security summit in Seoul as an "unsavoury burlesque" intended to justify an atomic attack by South Korea and its US ally.

In the second such broadside in two days, it also accused Seoul's ruling conservative party of using the event to improve its image before parliamentary elections in April.

South Korea says next month's summit, to be attended by US President Barack Obama and about 40 other world leaders, will focus on ways to safeguard atomic material worldwide and prevent acts of nuclear terrorism.

Seoul officials have said North Korea's nuclear programme is not on the agenda but the summit may build momentum towards denuclearisation.

Pyongyang's main newspaper Rodong Sinmun said the South's aim in hosting the March 26-27 event "in league with the US" is clear.

"It is designed to make the already bankrupt theory of 'nuclear threat from the north' sound real and justify their nuclear racket and moves to ignite a nuclear war against the DPRK (North Korea)," the paper said.

The commentary was issued while US-North Korean talks were underway in Beijing. The two sides were discussing a possible resumption of six-nation talks on scrapping the North's nuclear programme.

The summit would be "an unsavoury burlesque" staged by the US and the South Korean ruling party "in conspiracy" against North Korea, the Rodong Sinmun said.

"If substantial nuclear security and peace are to be achieved in the peninsula, it is necessary to put an end to the nuclear war threat from the US and the South Korean warlike forces."

The North frequently says it needs atomic weaponry to counter a nuclear threat from the US, which has 28,500 troops stationed in the South.

The US withdrew atomic weapons from South Korea in 1992 but offers to extend a "nuclear umbrella" over its ally in case it comes under atomic attack.

Rodong Sinmun said the South's conservative government, "after being cursed and forsaken by the people", was trying to use the summit to improve its image before the April 11 election.

President Lee Myung-Bak this week accused the North of trying to incite divisions within the South to sway the vote but said the tactic would not work.

A US diplomat said Friday some progress had been made in the first talks between the United States and North Korea since the death of Kim Jong-Il, but there were no breakthroughs.

Glyn Davies, coordinator for US policy on North Korea, said he had a "better understanding" of North Korea's position on the country's controversial nuclear programme, but they had not achieved any "dramatic results" during the talks.

"The talks were serious and substantive ... I think we made a little bit of progress," Davies told reporters at the end of the two-day meeting in Beijing. "We have been able to illuminate the issues a bit better, gain a better understanding of their point of view, their rationale and their position."

The talks were seen as a chance for Washington to clarify what policies North Korea's untested new leader Kim Jong-Un plans, and to try to work with Pyongyang to resume six-nation talks on ending its nuclear weapons programme.

The United States has been exploring a resumption of the negotiations, which are chaired by China and also include Japan, the two Koreas, Russia and the United States.

Analysts say Pyongyang -- which has said it wants to return to the six-party talks, albeit without any preconditions -- may be eager to resume discussions with Washington to show the regime is operating as it was before Kim's death.

Davies said there was no "dramatic difference" in the way the North Korean delegation, led by veteran negotiator Kim Kye-Gwan, conducted themselves during the talks, which focused on denuclearisation, non-proliferation, nuclear enrichment, humanitarian aid and Japanese citizens abducted by the North.

Davies said the fact the two sides were able to have "this very in-depth, wide-ranging exchange" represented progress.

"What we have to do is evaluate it ... and then consult with our allies and partners in the six-party process," he said.

North Korea abandoned the six-nation talks in April 2009 because of what it described as US hostility, and conducted a nuclear test the following month, to international condemnation.

This week's talks between the North and the United States are the third since July.

The two sides were scheduled to meet in December, but the plan was shelved after Kim's death on December 17 and the subsequent transition of power to his son Kim Jong-Un.

Davies said he had briefed his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei on the talks, and would meet with officials in South Korea and Japan over the weekend before returning to Washington on Monday.

China, North Korea's closest ally, has repeatedly urged a resumption of six-party talks.

Washington and Pyongyang have not agreed on further meetings, Davies said.

.


Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








NUKEWARS
US, North Korea hold first talks since Kim's death
Beijing (AFP) Feb 23, 2012
A senior US diplomat said Thursday he had held "serious and substantive" talks with North Korea's nuclear envoy in Beijing, the first such contact between the two nations since leader Kim Jong-Il died. Glyn Davies, coordinator for US policy on North Korea, and other officials held talks on denuclearisation, non-proliferation and humanitarian aid with a delegation from Pyongyang headed by vet ... read more


NUKEWARS
SD-built camera spots tiny shifts on moon

Back to the Moon A Modern Redux

X-rays illuminate the interior of the Moon

NASA Spacecraft Reveals Recent Geological Activity on the Moon

NUKEWARS
Opportunity For More Doppler Tracking And Imaging At Cape York

Mars rocks indicate relatively recent quakes, volcanism, on Red Planet

Dusty Mars Rover's Self-Portrait

Rock Studies Continue for Opportunity

NUKEWARS
Cosmonaut Testing at Star City Deceptively Simple

Stark warning emerges from science summit

Glenn: I don't think of myself as a hero

ASU professor uses Star Trek themes to communicate science

NUKEWARS
Launch of China's manned spacecraft Shenzhou-9 scheduled

Shenzhou 9 To Carry 3 Astronauts To Tiangong-1 Space Station

China to launch spacecraft in June: report

Is Shenzhou Unsafe?

NUKEWARS
Fifth ATV named after Georges Lemaitre

Space station panel installation delayed

Russian cosmonauts begin ISS spacewalk

Advanced Communications Testbed for Space Station

NUKEWARS
Aiming For An Open Window To Launch Into Space

Sea Launch on Track to Loft Intelsat 19

NuSTAR Mated to its Rocket

Rocket to be launched from Poker Flat Research Range

NUKEWARS
Extending the Habitable Zone for Red Dwarf Stars

Earth siblings can be different!

Hubble Reveals a New Class of Extrasolar Planet

US scientists discover new 'waterworld' planet

NUKEWARS
ORNL finding has materials scientists entering new territory

Yale paper finds arsenic supply at highest risk

Faster smartphones spark race for ways out of data crunch

Inspired by Gecko Feet, UMass Amherst Scientists Invent Super-Adhesive Material




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement