JAPAN: U.S. nuclear envoy Glyn Davies, after meeting with his Japanese counterpart in Tokyo, calls for efforts by the members of six-party talks to ultimately denuclearise North Korea
Record ID:
466087
JAPAN: U.S. nuclear envoy Glyn Davies, after meeting with his Japanese counterpart in Tokyo, calls for efforts by the members of six-party talks to ultimately denuclearise North Korea
- Title: JAPAN: U.S. nuclear envoy Glyn Davies, after meeting with his Japanese counterpart in Tokyo, calls for efforts by the members of six-party talks to ultimately denuclearise North Korea
- Date: 27th February 2012
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (FEBRUARY 26, 2012) (REUTERS) JAPAN'S FOREIGN MINISTRY BUILDING U.S. NUCLEAR ENVOY GLYN DAVIES SHAKING HANDS WITH JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTRY'S ASIAN AND OCEANIAN SECRETARY SHINSUKE SUGIYAMA DAVIES AND SUGIYAMA STANDING AT PODIUM FOR JOINT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR NORTH KOREA POLICY GLYN DAVIES SAYING: "Ultimately, this challenge is a challenge for all members of the six-party process, and I realize there is a great deal of focus on this -- let's call it "bilateral piece," the so-called "pre-steps phase" -- I understand that, but quite frankly what will be important in terms of achieving the ultimate goal, which is the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsular, will be a combined multilateral effort involving all members of the six-party talks." DAVIES AND SUGIYAMA STANDING JOURNALISTS TALKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR NORTH KOREA POLICY GLYN DAVIES SAYING: "We kicked the ball back and forth with the North Koreans over two days, and I don't know that it's useful for me to say that the ball is in one or the other court. I guess it's on the both courts at the moment when it comes to this bilateral phase, which is why I presume Kim Kye-gwan is going back to Pyongyang to report, I'm going back to Washington with the benefit of the advice and the good ideas of our allies and partners of the process, and we'll we where we go from there; whether we can make progress quickly, whether it will have to take a while, I'm not sure." DAVIES AND SUGIYAMA WALKING OFF
- Embargoed: 13th March 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan, Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAERQ9YZNRGNGU6LXZXMTT2S2QK
- Story Text: U.S. nuclear envoy Glyn Davies called for a combined multilateral effort by the members of six-party talks to denuclearise North Korea after he met his Japanese counterpart in Tokyo on Sunday (February 26).
The United States and North Korea had a face-to-face exchange in Beijing earlier this week where the two countries negotiated nuclear non-proliferation, North Korea's demands for food aid and other issues at the heart of regional tension.
The two days of talks in China marked the first bilateral between the two countries since the death of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il last December and the new and untested successor Kim Jong-un's ascent to power.
Davies, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy, underlined the importance of multilateral effort in dealing with North Korean nuclear ambition.
"Ultimately, this challenge is a challenge for all members of the six-party process, and I realize there is a great deal of focus on this -- let's call it "bilateral piece," the so-called "pre- steps phase" -- I understand that, but quite frankly what will be important in terms of achieving the ultimate goal, which is the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsular, will be a combined multilateral effort involving all members of the six-party talks," Davis said in a joint news conference with his Japanese counterpart, the Asian and Oceanian Secretary of Foreign Ministry, Shinsuke Sugiyama.
Davies said it was up to both Washington and Pyongyang to see if these rare talks with North Korea would lead lead to the resumption of the six-party talks.
"We kicked the ball back and forth with the North Koreans over two days, and I don't know that it's useful for me to say that the ball is in one or the other court. I guess it's on the both courts at the moment when it comes to this bilateral phase, which is why I presume Kim Kye-gwan is going back to Pyongyang to report, I'm going back to Washington with the benefit of the advice and the good ideas of our allies and partners of the process, and we'll see we where we go from there; whether we can make progress quickly, whether it will have to take a while, I'm not sure," Davies said.
Davies will continue to discuss North Korean issues with Japan's Deputy Prime Minister Mari Yamaguchi and Vice Foreign Minister Kenichiro Sasae on Monday (February 27) before he heads back to Washington in the evening.
North Korea agreed to curtail its nuclear activities under an aid-for-denuclearisation agreement reached in September 2005 at six-party talks bringing together North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.
The deal was never fully implemented; instead, the North staged two nuclear test blasts -- in 2006 and 2009 -- and later disclosed a uranium enrichment programme.
Pyongyang, subject to international sanctions for its nuclear weapons program, has said it is willing to rejoin regional talks, but the United States, South Korea and their allies have been sceptical of North Korea's assertions that it wants to return to the six-party talks.
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