The latest round of the six-party talks aimed at halting North Korea's nuclear weapons programs ended without tangible results Friday. The participants even failed to decide on the date of the next round. Moreover, Japan and North Korea held no bilateral talks on resolving the fate of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean agents. It is extremely regrettable that North Korea inflexibly stuck to its refusal to discuss the nuclear weapons issue.
The biggest reason for the latest round ending without progress after five days was North Korea's demand that the United States end financial sanctions against it first before a discussion of the North's denuclearization could proceed.
For the first time, the U.S. held separate bilateral meetings with North Korea, one on the imposed financial sanctions and the other on the denuclearization issue. U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill said North Korea talked only about the financial sanctions in both meetings. North Korea failed to show sincerity.