South Korea Resists Six-Party Talks Amid Nuclear Tensions

South Korean officials are preparing for a diplomatic showdown ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's arrival in Washington, where he will meet with President Obama on Wednesday. South Korea's main concern is that the US may acquiesce to China's call for six-party talks without the South's full agreement and without any concessions from North Korea. As the US appears open to renewing dialogue, it's unclear how forcefully South Korea will resist talks that it believes have no chance of halting North Korea's nuclear program.

Key Takeaways:

• South Korea is resisting six-party talks due to concerns that North Korea will not give up its nuclear weapons, and that China's call for talks may undermine the South's position.
• South Korean officials demand that North Korea apologize for the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island and the sinking of the South Korean corvette Cheonan as a prerequisite for returning to the table.
• South Korea's unification minister, Hyun In-taek, insists on a formal apology for the attacks in the Yellow Sea, as well as signs that North Korea will "freeze" its nuclear and missile programs.
• South Korea is upset by China's refusal to condemn North Korea for these attacks and for building a 20-megawatt reactor capable of enriching uranium.
• The US is not expected to accept China's call for six-party talks immediately, with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates offering only pro forma support for dialogue.
• South Korean officials believe that the US will not yield easily to China's call for talks, and will instead seek to brief the North Koreans on the US-China summit's aims before engaging in talks.

Statistics:

• North Korea is believed to have the capability to build up to a dozen nuclear devices with plutonium.
• The 20-megawatt reactor being built in North Korea is capable of enriching uranium to the degree needed to build more nuclear devices.
• Yeonpyeong Island was shelled by North Korea in 2010, killing two South Korean marines and two civilians.
• The South Korean corvette Cheonan was sunk by a torpedo from a North Korean submarine in March 2010.

Sources:

• The Washington Post
• The Wall Street Journal
• Interviews with Choi Jin-wook, senior North Korea analyst at the Korea Institute of National Unification
• Hyun In-taek, unification minister of South Korea
• Kim Young-sun, foreign ministry spokesman of South Korea
• Lee Jong-min, dean of Yonsei University's Graduate School of International Studies
• Robert Gates, US Defense Secretary