North Korea Watch: North Korea Wants United Nations Sanctions Lifted

Top Japanese envoy Kenichiro Sasae, standing in second row, arrives for the resumption of Six-Party Talks as China’s Deputy Foreign Mminister Wu Dawei , seated at right, gathers his notes ahead of round-table discussions at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing Monday, Dec. 18, 2006. International talks on North Korea’s nuclear program convened Monday for the first time in 13 months following a boycott by the communist nation during which it tested an atomic device for the first time.

AP: North Korea wants U.N. sanctions lifted

North Korea defiantly declared itself a nuclear power Monday at the start of the first full international arms talks since its nuclear test and threatened to increase its nuclear deterrent if its demands were not met.

Reiterating those demands in its opening speech, the North said the
United Nations must lift the sanctions imposed on the communist nation for its Oct. 9 nuclear test. It also said the United States must remove the financial restrictions that led the North to break off the six-nation nuclear negotiations 13 months ago.

The North also said it wants a nuclear reactor constructed for it and help covering its energy needs until the reactor is completed, according to a summary of the speech released by one of the delegations involved. Five nations are trying to persuade the North to abandon nuclear weapons — the United States, China,
South Korea, Japan and Russia.

The North said that now that it is a nuclear power, it should be treated on equal footing with the U.S. It warned that if its demands aren’t met, it would increase its nuclear deterrent, according to the summary.

These are opening, bloviating demands from a backward state who is feeling the pain of their DEAR LEADER Kim Jong-Il.

Kim may not be able to obtain his caviar and vintage wine but the average North Korean is less concerned with their nuclear weapons program then on obtaining something to eat on a daily basis.

So, why are the North Koreans even back to the negotiating table after a 13 month absence?

Obviously financial sanctions by the United States and economic sanctions by the United Nations are having some effect. But, China (Kim’s Puppet Master) is worried that all of those missile defense deployments by the United States in and around Japan and Taiwan will be the first step in neutering China’s nuclear missile deterrent.

The U.S. offered in its opening comments to normalize relations with Pyongyang, but only after it halted its nuclear program.

A South Korean official who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the talks said the North was entering the negotiations with a maximum of conditions for success.

Opening the talks at a Chinese state guesthouse in Beijing, head Chinese delegate Wu Dawei urged the envoys to strive for the implementation of a September 2005 agreement in which the North pledged to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for security guarantees and aid.

“This session has significant meaning in building on past progress and paving the way for the future,” he said. “We hope that with the concerted efforts of all parties, we will be able to produce positive results.”

North Korea agreed to return to the six-nation negotiations just weeks after its nuclear test, saying it wanted to discuss U.S. financial restrictions against a Macau bank where the regime held accounts.

That issue will be addressed in separate U.S.-North Korean meetings expected to start Tuesday.

The position of the United States is CLEAR.

North Korea must abandon their nuclear program.

Kim has a choice by either ending the nuclear nonsense or suffering the loss of his regime and ultimately his life.

Stay tuned as this is just the start of talks between North Kora and the United States.

Captain Ed has more.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill (C) attends the start of six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme in Beijing December 18, 2006. Talks aimed at persuading North Korea to forsake its nuclear weapons opened in Beijing on Monday, with key negotiators wary over how Pyongyang will respond after staging its first atomic blast.

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