Flexibility on North Korea

last updated 8 January 2015

Beijing

Talks on denuclearizing North Korea resumed this week after a tense, 13-month hiatus. North Korea has long been urging a step-by-step approach to negotiations, in which it would receive aid and benefits for each move it took toward dismantling its nuclear weapons program. But the U.S. has insisted that North Korea disarm completely before any rewards be given. This week, U.S. negotiator Chris Hill implied that the U.S. might be amenable to the incremental approach, trading “words for words and actions for actions.” If this round of six-party talks—which include envoys from the U.S., China, Russia, Japan, and North and South Korea—produces no progress, Washington could take the issue to the U.N. for possible sanctions.