Deep distrust is challenging progress toward ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program, China's envoy to six-party disarmament talks said today, following discussions with North Korea on a potential deal.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, who is leading the talks on Pyongyang's nuclear future, said he had hopes of progress in implementing a February 13th agreement offering North Korea aid and improved security in return for first steps to dismantling its atomic facilities within 60 days.
But Mr Wu warned that steps forward would not be easy as the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia wrangle over how to proceed.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei
"The countries involved suffer a serious lack of trust among them. That's the biggest problem the six-party talks must face," he told the official Xinhua news agency.
Mr Wu, who rarely makes public comments, likened China to a captain on a fractious ship. "The six-party talks are like a ship. The ship has six captains, and in the current stage we're executive captain."
Mr Wu said that earlier today he had met North Korea's envoy to the talks, Kim Kye-gwan, fresh from New York where he held two-way negotiations with US envoy Christopher Hill.
The New York meeting focused on obstacles to normalization of ties between countries that have been bitter foes since the 1950-1953 Korean War. Washington has promised to look to establishing ties and easing financial sanctions on North Korea as part of the February agreement.
This week, Japan and North Korea also held two-way talks aimed at easing the historic foes' current divisions focused on Pyongyang's abduction of Japanese citizens in years past
Long North Korea's biggest aid supplier, China was infuriated last October when Pyongyang tested its first nuclear device, prompting Beijing to back UN sanctions against Pyongyang that helped push it back to the disarmament talks.