6자회담의 결과를 놓고 각국의 반응들이 엇갈리고 있는 가운데, 노무현 대통령과 부시 미국 대통령은 지난달 6자 회담이 개최되기 전 전화통화를 하고 북한의 핵포기를 전제로 한 에너지 지원 방안을 조율했다는 보도 내용이다.
그 동안 대북 에너지 지원 방안은 한국과 중국, 러시아가 주도적으로 제안하고 미국은 이를 `양해’한다는 정도의 소극적 태도를 보였다는 분석이 지배적이었으나 이번 보도는 오히려 미국이 이같은 대북 제안을 배후에서 주도했음을 시사해 주목을 끌고 있다.
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Lasting Discord Clouds Talks on North Korean Nuclear Arms
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
Published: March 14, 2004
ASHINGTON, March 13 — Almost two weeks after North Korea agreed to new, supposedly more intimate “working groups” to discuss its nuclear weapons program, Bush administration officials say that the agenda for the talks remains unclear and that the discussions may not occur until April or May.
The idea of trying to resolve disagreements over North Korea’s nuclear programs in one or more working groups came up in the last round of talks in Beijing at the end of February. Besides the United States and North Korea, Russia, China, South Korea and Japan took part.
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said afterward that he was “quite satisfied” with how they went and that the working groups established “an institutionalized process to move forward in further discussions.”
The objective, according to administration officials, is to create an unpressured atmosphere in which North Korea may feel more free to negotiate steps toward the American demand for a “complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement” of its nuclear programs.
But there is dissent in the administration over how much the talks with North Korea accomplished and whether the working groups will produce further progress. “The premise is wrong,” said an American official. “If the North Koreans are not willing to show flexibility at a high level, they’re not going to let their munchkins do the job.”
The framework of the Bush administration’s approach is to insist on an upfront pledge by North Korea to dismantle its programs, and then to grant benefits — from security guarantees to economic and energy assistance — in return for step-by-step progress toward that goal.
Hard-liners in the administration say the main disappointment of the most recent talks was the failure to get a commitment on the dismantling of the weapons. Those who favor a more conciliatory approach say the main accomplishment was to get all the other participants in the talks to agree that North Korea must commit itself to that goal.
A top administration official described the proceedings as “grueling” and said that even minor progress was a real victory. “The consensus among us is that this is a ground game,” he said, using a football metaphor. “We’re going to move the ball five yards at a time.”
American and Asian diplomats said the biggest disappointment occurred because of a last-minute snag on the last day of the talks in Beijing, when the six nations could not agree to a statement committing themselves to the working groups format.
North Korea, several diplomats said, came in with a last-minute demand that the final statement include a reference to its disagreement on fundamental issues with Washington, viewed by the American delegation as a step backward. In the absence of a joint statement, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing of China announced a consensus for working groups on his own.
An Asian diplomat said the Chinese delegates were “very, very disappointed and probably annoyed” over North Korea’s move. An American official described Mr. Li and other Chinese officials as furious.
Another clash at the meetings occurred over the American insistence that North Korea acknowledge not only its plutonium program but also its efforts to make a nuclear bomb with highly enriched uranium. North Korea has acknowledged the first method but not the second.
The leader of the American delegation, James A. Kelly, an assistant secretary of state, recalled at a recent Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that the North Korean delegate demanded proof it had a uranium enrichment program. Mr. Kelly said he replied, “If I were to give you all that information, it might make it easier for you to conceal it.”
Administration officials said Mr. Bush had telephoned President Roh Moo Hyun of South Korea in February to make sure his delegates would offer energy assistance to the North only in return for an upfront commitment on disarmament. In the end, the offer was transmitted in exactly the fashion that Mr. Bush wanted, an administration official said, adding, “That was huge.”
Another major victory tallied by administration officials had to do with China more than North Korea. Many American officials say that they were elated that China had basically endorsed the American approach and that the five parties were lined up against North Korea.
“I’ll be frank,” the American official said. “The Chinese and Russians would like us to give more goodies, but now they’re pushing the North Koreans in the direction we want. Those are things we’ve never had before.”
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