MEDIA REACTION - RESUMPTION OF SIX-PARTY TALKS -

UNCLAS TOKYO 006934 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR I/RF, PA/PR/FPC/W, IIP/G/EA, EAP/PD, R/MR, EAP/J, EAP/P, PM; USTR FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE; TREASURY FOR OASIA/IMI; SECDEF FOR OASD/PA; CP BUTLER OKINAWA FOR AREA FIELD OFFICE; PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO JA SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION - RESUMPTION OF SIX-PARTY TALKS - TOKYO LEAD STORIES: Most Tuesday morning papers front-paged a Chinese Foreign Ministry announcement that the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue will resume in Beijing on Monday, December 18. ¶1. "Six-Party Talks: Priority Should Be Given to Halting Operations at DPRK Nuclear Facilities" The liberal Asahi editorialized (12/12): "After a 13-month interval, the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue will resume in Beijing on December 18. The talks have been stalemated so long because the DPRK strongly opposed US financial sanctions. North Korea must have suffered a great deal from them. Since the summer, the North Koreans have heightened the crisis by launching ballistic missiles and conducting a nuclear test.... Based on the joint statement issued in September 2005, talks will center on the North's denuclearization, the DPRK's normalization of ties with the US and Japan, energy and other assistance to North Korea from the other five countries, and the creation of a peace treaty.... There are many hurdles for Pyongyang to clear, including freezing operations at its nuclear plants and accepting IAEA inspections.... Negotiations will only become serious when the North takes concrete measures." ¶2. "How Will Other Participants Urge DPRK to Denuclearize?" An editorial in the top-circulation, moderate Yomiuri commented (12/12): "The six-party talks will resume in Beijing next week after a 13-month hiatus, this being the first round since North Korea's nuclear test. Although much depends on the stance Pyongyang takes, the prospects for success are slight.... In preparatory meetings for the resumption of the talks, the US urged the North Koreans to close their nuclear test site, halt operations at their nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, and report all their nuclear facilities and subject them to IAEA inspections. Pyongyang, which now boasts of its status as a 'nuclear power,' will not readily accept these US calls. North Korea will probably take advantage of the weakened Bush administration, which suffered a setback in the recent midterm elections.... The five participating nations should strengthen solidarity to prevent the North from trying to take advantage of possible gaps among them. It is particularly important that China, a major supplier of oil and foodstuffs to the North, play an effective role at the talks." SCHIEFFER