World | Other World Stories
US and North Korea to hold talks
Washington and Pyongyang to meet for the first time after death of Kim Jong-il
- AP
- Published: 00:00 February 23, 2012
- Image Credit: AP
- US special envoy Glyn Davies arrives in Beijing. His meeting with North Korean Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan is expected to provide some clues on policy directions of Pyongyang’s new regime.
Beijing: The US and North Korea reopen nuclear talks today that will provide a glimpse into where Pyongyang's government is heading after Kim Jong-il's death and test its readiness to dismantle nuclear programmes for much-needed aid.
The countries were on the verge of a deal to have Washington provide food in return for Pyongyang suspending uranium enrichment when it was upended by the longtime leader's death on December 17.
That North Korea has agreed to re-enter talks so soon afterward could signal a measure of cohesion and a continuation of Kim Jong-il's policies as it transfers power to his young son and a group of advisers.
However, stonewalling could point to disagreement within the new leadership or unpredictable directions in policy for a government that has long sought to develop nuclear weapons and already has detonated two nuclear test blasts. The workings of North Korea's government are difficult for outsiders to discern, so analysts and foreign government officials alike will closely monitor today's talks in Beijing.
"The fact that North Korea has come to the negotiating table means the country is enjoying a level of internal stability," said Kim Keun-sik, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University in South Korea.
"But we can't immediately link North Korea's stability to how fruitful the talks will be," he said.
More from Other World Stories
More from World
News Editor's choice
-
Ukraine leaders fight over Russian language
Violence erupts in Ukraine parliament over a bill to allow use of Russian language in courts, hospitals
-
CBSE: 100% success in many UAE schools
6,000 students from 53 schools meet grade expectations in examinations
-
'I can’t believe he is not going to come back'
Seventeen-year-old boy went missing in Dubai during a visit from Pakistan
