Korean issue calls for talks
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The Six-Party Talks is the only platform for dialogue and consultation that can resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, and the US, the ROK and Japan have to return to the negotiation table if they really want to see peace and stability return to the peninsula.
The meeting among the US, the ROK and Japan in Washington on Dec 6 did nothing to ease the tension on the Korean Peninsula. Their three-party alliance, which has discarded China, the DPRK and Russia, can only complicate the Korean Peninsula issue further.
But there is still a silver lining in the dark clouds hovering over Northeast Asia. The ROK and the US have not completely denied the positive role of the Six-Party Talks and the DPRK is willing to return to negotiations. These raise hopes that the issue could still be resolved through dialogue. But for that, all the parties have to approach the negotiations with mutual trust and mutual respect. Trying to force one party to "apologize" and "plead guilty" will not resolve the issue.
The US has wrongly assumed that China's proposal of holding a six-party emergency meeting is a "consolation" for the DPRK. It should understand that only talks can make the DPRK realize the importance of denuclearization and the subsequent improvement in Washington-Pyongyang relations and restoration of peace and stability in Northeast Asia.
But the US is averse to returning to the Six-Party Talks and hold negotiations with China, Russia, and especially with the DPRK on the basis of equality. It is interested only in strengthening its alliances with Japan and the ROK, and pressuring China and Russia to "force" the DPRK into submission, disregarding Pyongyang's security concerns. The US' stance is a deviation from the ideals of the joint statement issued by the Six-Party Talks.
Probably, some US politicians still hope military tactics can yield the results they desire. But they are wrong. Strong-arm tactics have never solved any problem.
China believes only peaceful talks can resolve the Korean Peninsula issue and hopes the Six-Party Talks would resume soon.
The author is director of Border Area Research Institute, affiliated to the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences.
