Seoul’s envoy to 6-party talks to visit Beijing

South Korea’s top negotiator on North Korea will visit Beijing this week to meet his Chinese counterpart and discuss ways to resume multinational talks aimed at ending Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program, a diplomatic source said Sunday.

The planned trip by Cho Tae-yong is noteworthy because it takes place after a string of recent meetings in Washington and Pyongyang between the United States, China and North Korea.

The source, who did not wish to be identified, said Cho is expected to hold talks with Wu Dawei, special representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs, and will be able to get a first-hand account of Pyongyang’s stance on future talks.

Wu was in the North Korean capital last week and met with his counterpart and other senior officials. There has been speculation that he urged the North to change its stance of the nuclear issue, which has hindered the resumption of six-party talks. The talks aim to end the nuclear standoff on the Korean Peninsula.

The Chinese official had visited Washington late last month and discussed outstanding issues with U.S. nuclear envoy Glyn Davies.

Pyongyang has insisted that its nuclear deterrent is not a bargaining chip, while South Korea and the United States have remained steadfast in their need for the North to openly declare its intention to surrender its capability, and show clear signs of its intent to do so.

In last week’s meeting between South Korean and U.S.

representatives, the allies said the North has not taken necessary steps to restart the talks process.

Besides the two Koreas, the United States and China, the six-party talks also involve Japan and Russia.

Although the North has not shown the kind of commitment being requested by others, if it offered more acceptable conditions to China in its latest meeting, there is a chance of the six-party talks resuming after a five-year hiatus. The last meeting took place in late 2008.

On the other hand, if the North remains adamant, tensions will continue to build over the nuclear issue.

Highlighting this concern, in recent months Pyongyang has reiterated its commitment to simultaneously build up its economy and nuclear weapons program, although externally it has hinted it can abide by a moratorium on the testing of new rockets and nuclear weapons.

The North detonated its third nuclear device in February and launched a long-range rocket in December of 2012.

A senior diplomatic source said it may be too optimistic to think a breakthrough in talks will take place anytime soon.

“Headway may be made in slow stages instead of one big leap,”

the official said, hinting that more talks will have to take place.

He said Davis, Washington’s point man on nuclear talks, will visit Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing later this month to coordinate the ongoing discussion process. (Yonhap News)