Envoys to the six-party talks on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) nuclear disarmament are sounding rare notes of optimism, raising hopes for progress after their expected return to the bargaining table in coming weeks.
The talks could bring the first steps towards turning back the clock on the DPRK's nuclear development since Pyongyang restarted its main nuclear reactor more than four years ago and proved its long-claimed atomic arsenal with its first test explosion in October.
At the last round of the talks in December, the United States and its partners - China, Japan, Russia and the Republic of Korea - could not even get the DPRK to talk about its nuclear programme. Instead, the DPRK stuck to its previous demand that Washington desist from a campaign to financially isolate the country for alleged counterfeiting and money laundering.
"On the whole, the impression is developing that the DPRK side has interpreted the results of the talks in Berlin with a certain optimism," Russian nuclear envoy Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said on Monday after meeting over the weekend with DPRK negotiator Kim Kye Gwan, according to a report by Russia's Interfax news agency.
US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, who represents Washington at the nuclear talks, said on Monday in Beijing that there was "a basis for making progress" when the six-nation nuclear negotiations resume.
Several envoys have said they expect the nuclear talks to resume before mid-February, when the Lunar New Year is celebrated across Asia.
CNN/VOVNews
Add new comment