Talks on North Korea

last updated 8 January 2015

Beijing

Diplomats from North Korea’s four neighbors and the U.S. sat down in Beijing this week with North Korean negotiators to discuss the country’s illegal nuclear weapons program. The six nations—the U.S., North and South Korea, China, Japan, and Russia—have a lot of ground to cover. Washington is demanding that North Korea verifiably destroy its nuclear program before receiving aid; North Korea wants a signed nonaggression treaty and other perks before agreeing to any inspections. The U.S., meanwhile, is negotiating without some of its top people. Envoy Jack Pritchard, an experienced North Korea hand, recently resigned. And the North Koreans refuse to deal with Undersecretary of State John Bolton, who recently called life in North Korea a “hellish nightmare.” The North Koreans then called Bolton “bloodsucking scum.”