In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

III. People’s Republic of China

I. United States

1. US Media on DPRK Reactors Groundbreaking

The New York Times (Nicholas D. Kristof, “CONSTRUCTION CEREMONY IN NORTH KOREA BREAKS MORE THAN GROUND,” Tokyo, 8/20/97, A10), The Washington Post (Kevin Sullivan and Mary Jordan, “N. KOREA INITIATES HUGE ENERGY PROJECT; VENTURE VIEWED AS AID TO STABILITY,” Tokyo, 8/20/97, A18), and The Washington Times (Willis Witter, “RELATIONS STILL ICY AS KOREAS LAUNCH REACTOR PROJECT,” Tokyo, 8/20/97) all carried reports on the groundbreaking ceremonies Tuesday inaugurating construction of two 1000-megawatt nuclear power plants in the DPRK, sponsored by the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) as part of implementation of the 1994 US-DPRK Agreed Framework. [Ed. note: See “KEDO Begins Construction of DPRK Reactors” in the August 19 Daily Report.]

The New York Times report noted that the project, which many critics had doubted would ever begin, “will lead to thousands of South Korean laborers, presumably well salted with spies, working within North Korea and sending mail and equipment and messages between two nations that technically remain at war.” Evincing the hopes that the project will produce more than energy, the report quoted Paul Cleveland, US representative to KEDO, as saying at the ceremony, “The work we celebrate today is on the cutting edge of future progress in the search for peace on this peninsula.” A senior ROK official in Seoul, interviewed by telephone, was quoted as saying, “I think the presence of a South Korean work force in North Korea will help bring about changes and openness in North Korea. I understand 5,000 South Korean workers will go to North Korea to implement this, and I think that’s an important first step in building inter-Korea exchanges.” The report added that DPRK representatives at the ceremony seemed unsure how to react to their ROK counterparts; “some North Koreans applauded the chief South Korean delegate, while others looked around for guidance.” The report also noted that reporters allowed to attend the ceremony in Kumho, on the DPRK’s east coast, said they saw no obvious sign of malnutrition and famine, and the fields seemed lush.

The Washington Post report noted the “broader importance” of the nuclear plant project, observing that international officials hope it “will make the reclusive Stalinist nation more economically stable, less of a military threat and more engaged with the outside world.” The report added that the project “has been a top priority of the governments in Washington, Seoul and Tokyo since North Korea agreed to it in 1994.” The report quoted DPRK diplomat Ho Jong as saying in a speech at the groundbreaking ceremony, “The nuclear issue … is a product of the Cold War that stems from the historical distrust and abnormal relations between [North Korea] and the U.S.,” and pledging that the DPRK would continue to honor the deal in order to “forge … future-oriented relations with the U.S. through reconciliation and cooperation.” W

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

I. United States

1. KEDO Begins Construction of DPRK Reactors

The Office of the White House Press Secretary (“WHITE HOUSE ON KEDO AND NORTH KOREA GROUNDBREAKING,” USIA Transcript, 8/19/97) on August 19 issued the following written statement: “KEDO and DPRK Groundbreaking. Today in North Korea, the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) and the DPRK held a groundbreaking ceremony marking the start of construction of the first of two light-water nuclear reactors to be built in North Korea under the terms of the 1994 U.S.-DPRK Agreed Framework. Ambassador Paul Cleveland, the U.S. Representative to KEDO’s Executive Board and Chairman of the Board, attended the ceremony and delivered a message from President Clinton. Groundbreaking for the light-water reactor project marks an important milestone in our efforts, in cooperation with the Republic of Korea and Japan, to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, contribute to peace and stability in Northeast Asia, and strengthen the international non-proliferation regime. It also occurs against a backdrop of significant progress in other areas of Agreed Framework implementation. North Korea continues to maintain the freeze on its nuclear facilities, under IAEA monitoring, and is nearing completion of a joint project with the United States to safely store its spent nuclear fuel, which would otherwise be available for the production of weapons-grade plutonium. Moreover, the Agreed Framework continues to provide a foundation for us to discuss issues of bilateral concern with the DPRK and, along with our South Korean and Japanese allies, to engage North Korea in meaningful dialogue and work toward a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

The Associated Press (“GROUND BROKEN ON KOREA NUKE PLANTS,” Kumho, DPRK, 8/19/97) and Reuters (“GROUND BROKEN IN N.KOREA FOR NUCLEAR PROJECT,” Kumho, DPRK, 8/19/97) reported that diplomats from nine nations and the European Union were among the 200 people at the ceremonial groundbreaking for construction of two 1,000-megawatt light-water nuclear reactors in the DPRK under the direction of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO). Ten KEDO officials, including KEDO director Stephen W. Bosworth, triggered a “symbolic blast” on a nearby hillside that sent puffs of pink, green, orange and yellow smoke into the air. Bosworth said Tuesday’s ceremony had political importance because it would help establish KEDO’s credibility. “This groundbreaking ceremony…marks the fulfillment of a promise — a promise made over two years ago by the Republic of Korea, Japan and the United States,” Bosworth said at the start of the ceremony. Chang Sun-sup, chief ROK representative for the project, stated, “As we are all aware, the light-water reactor project was initiated to help ensure the peace and security of a denuclearized and war-free Korean peninsula. It is the promising product of a concerted international effort to realize these ideals on the Korean peninsula.” However, t

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

I. United States

1. ROK Defector to DPRK

Reuters (“REPORT: DEFECTOR MAY HAVE SPIED FOR N. KOREA,” Seoul, 8/18/97) reported that ROK newspapers said Monday that Oh Ik-jae, the ROK religious leader whose defection to the DPRK was reported over the weekend, might have been a spy while serving on a presidential advisory group. Oh, 68, who headed the 130-year-old religious group Chondokyo in the ROK until 1995, served on the Advisory Council on Democratic and Peaceful Unification, a ROK presidential advisory body. “The authorities suspect Oh worked as a North Korean spy in the South for some time,” said the Chosun Ilbo daily, which has had numerous scoops on DPRK-related issues in recent months. A senior police official, who asked not to be identified, was quoted by Reuters as saying he suspected Oh had maintained contacts with DPRK officials since 1993, when he met DPRK Chondokyo representatives in Beijing. An official at the advisory body said Oh’s term on the advisory body ended in June. The ROK intelligence agency and police investigating the defection of declined to comment on the newspaper reports. Oh, a founding member of the ROK main opposition National Congress for New Politics, arrived in Pyongyang on Friday for “permanent residence,” according to the DPRK’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). ROK state television broadcast DPRK TV footage showing Oh stepping out of a train at Pyongyang railway station. In an arrival statement, Oh hailed DPRK leader Kim Jong-il as a hero and rebuked the ROK government for pursuing policies hampering the reunification of the Korean peninsula. The police official said the DPRK might be seeking to make propaganda use of Oh to make up for the defection to the ROK earlier this year of Hwang Jang-yop, the highest-ranking DPRK official ever to flee that country. Hwang has said since that there are DPRK spies among high-ranking ROK officials.

The Associated Press (“S. KOREAN RELIGIOUS LEADER DEFECTS,” Seoul, 8/16/97) reported earlier that the ROK National Congress for New Politics, hoping to dispel any negative fallout from the defection of Oh Ik-jae to the DPRK, issued a statement saying that while Oh had served on the party’s advisory council for a brief period after the party was founded, he had not been an active member for months. “We will immediately launch an investigation into the matter and expel Oh from the party,” the statement said. The report also noted that Oh was head of the indigenous religion Chondokyo beginning in 1989. Chondokyo, established during the latter half of the 1800s, was a major force in fighting against Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea, but has diminished in popularity since and now has only about 50,000 followers.

2. DPRK Nuclear Fuel Canning Near Finished

The Associated Press (“MOST OF N. KOREA NUKE FUEL ENCASED,” Seoul, 8/17/97) reported that ROK Ministry of National Unification officials said Sunday that US experts have encased ninet

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Landmine Ban Colloquium Statement

I. United States

1. US Official on DPRK Famine, Food Aid

Reuters (“U.S. ENVOY: N. KOREA FOOD CRISIS WORSENS,” Tokyo, 8/15/97) reported that US ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson said Friday that the DPRK’s food crisis is getting worse and that the US has no evidence supporting reports that the DPRK government is diverting international aid to its military. Richardson, who made several visits to the DPRK prior to becoming UN ambassador earlier this year, also said the US was likely to respond to any further appeals for food aid to the DPRK by the UN World Food Program (WFP). The US already has provided US$52 million this year through the WFP to help stave off famine conditions. Commenting on assertions by members a US congressional delegation that during their DPRK visit they saw evidence of diversions of food aid to the military, Richardson said, “We right now, on the reports that food is being diverted to the military, are looking into the reports. We can’t verify them.” He said US food aid was targeted mainly at children under the age of six and “we believe it is getting to them.”

2. DPRK-Japan Relations

The Associated Press (“N. KOREA, JAPAN MAY ESTABLISH TIES,” Tokyo, 8/15/97) reported that the DPRK and Japan announced Friday that they will hold talks next Thursday in Beijing aimed at eventually establishing diplomatic relations. In Tokyo, Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda announced the agreement to hold the bilateral talks, which was confirmed by a statement on DPRK radio. The two countries never have had formal relations, and previously have scheduled eight rounds of normalization talks without success. The last round of talks was suspended in November 1992, when DPRK negotiators walked out in objection to Japanese demands for information on Megumi Yokota, thought to have been kidnapped by DPRK spies. Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto welcomed the chance to improve ties, stating, “There have been so many times that similar talks have been put off for one reason or another that I really look forward to their actually being carried out.” A warmer relationship could help the DPRK get more Japanese food aid to help ward off its looming famine. Japan provided US$5.2 million in food aid last year, but has refused to pledge any more.

3. ROK President Supports DPRK Peace Efforts

AP-Dow Jones News Service (“S.KOREA LAUDS PEACE EFFORTS, URGES BETTER TIES WITH NORTH,” Seoul, 8/15/97) reported that ROK President Kim Young-sam on Friday lauded recent peace efforts between the rival Koreas and renewed his offer of assistance if the DPRK were to improve ties. Kim said in a nationally broadcast speech commemorating the 52nd anniversary of Korean independence from Japanese colonial rule that last week’s four-party peace talks preliminary meeting provided “concrete steps for pea

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

I. United States

1. US Food Aid to DPRK

US State Department Spokesman James Rubin (“STATE DEPARTMENT BRIEFING, AUGUST 14,” USIA Transcript, 8/14/97) on Thursday responded to assertions by members of the US congressional delegation recently returned from the DPRK that food aid intended for the country’s starving population has been diverted to its military and political elite. [Ed. note: See “US Congressional Representatives Visit to DPRK” in the August 13 Daily Report.] Rubin stated: “We have no indication that there has been any significant diversion of the assistance we have provided. As far as we are able to judge, nearly all our assistance thus far has been directed at helping young children — particularly children under six. We believe the World Food Program, with experienced in-country staff, has been carefully monitoring the distribution of assistance. We believe that that assistance has gone to the right places. We of course are watching this very carefully and monitoring it very carefully.” Rubin added that he could not “get into, in this forum, exactly how we know what we know — especially in a place like North Korea. But I can say that our experts are confident that there is no significant diversion of the assistance we have provided.” Asked if the US delegation’s assertions would affect future US food aid to the DPRK, Rubin replied, “We’ll obviously talk to them and try to ascertain that they know something we don’t know, and act on it if that information proves to affect this judgment. But for now, our judgment is that … the assistance we provide to the World Food Program goes to the needy children and there is no significant diversion.” [Ed. note: See the related item in the ROK section, below.]

2. ROK Food Aid to DPRK

The Associated Press (“S. KOREA SENDS FOOD TO NORTH KOREA,” Seoul, 8/14/97) and reported that on Thursday the first shipment of the ROK’s pledge of 50,000 tons of food to the DPRK left by ship from Inchon. The shipment included 2,000 tons of flour, four tons of powdered milk and 70,200 gallons of cooking oil. More shipments will follow by ship as well as by rail via the PRC. The delivery of the 50,000 tons of food, mostly corn, is to be complete by the end of September. The food can feed 740,000 North Koreans, or about 3 percent of the population, before this year’s harvest in October, International Red Cross officials said. [Ed. note: See the related item in the ROK section, below.]

Reuters (“SEOUL CONCERNED ABOUT FOOD DISTRIBUTION IN N.KOREA,” Seoul, 8/14/97) reported that, following assertions by members of the US congressional delegation recently returned from the DPRK that food aid has been diverted to its military and political elite, Kang Ho-yang, spokesman of the National Unification Ministry, said in a statement issued Thursday, “The government cannot help but be worried about

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

I. United States

1. US Congressional Representatives Visit to DPRK

The Associated Press (“US ENVOY: N. KOREA ARMY STOLE FOOD,” Seoul, 8/13/97) and Reuters (“U.S. OFFICIALS: FOOD AID GOING TO MILITARY?,” Seoul, 8/13/97) reported that members of the US Congressional delegation that visited the DPRK August 9-11 said Wednesday that the DPRK’s military and government elite may have siphoned off some of the foreign food aid intended for its starving citizens. Representative Jane Harmon (D- Calif.) was quoted as saying at the delegation’s news conference in Seoul, “I believe we would all agree that some food aid has probably ended up in the hands of the military and the other elites in the country and we are concerned about that.” No other delegation member contested Harmon’s remarks. The representatives said they saw serious food problems and agreed on the need for more aid, and Harmon added that international aid workers had “confirmed that some food is reaching the people.” However, representative Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said, “Despite repeated requests by members of this delegation to visit a distribution center we were not able to do that.” Many suspect that the DPRK’s 1.1 million-member army — the world’s fifth largest — is the first to get food because of its role as the backbone of the country’s communist regime. The representatives said they would seek measures to ensure that any future US aid to the DPRK would go directly to hunger-stricken people, and Pelosi said she thought any increase in US aid would depend on how well the DPRK allows the distribution system to be monitored. The DPRK has demanded an increase in aid as a condition for its participation in the US-ROK proposed four-party Korean peace talks. The US has rejected this demand.

US Presidential Press Secretary Mike McCurry (“WHITE HOUSE DAILY BRIEFING, AUGUST 13, 1997,” USIA Transcript, 8/13/97) on Tuesday replied to a question concerning the DPRK visit by a US Congressional delegation and US concerns over the current situation in the DPRK. McCurry stated, “We will be interested in a report of the congressional delegation and learning more about what they’ve seen. They’ve had some access that will be useful I think as we understand more of what’s happening in a society that is very difficult at times to penetrate.” McCurry also credited the efforts of UN World Food Program relief workers in distribution of food aid. “They do very hard work, sometimes under difficult circumstances, to assure that that assistance goes to those citizens who are suffering. And it would be contrary to the wishes of the international community and the program itself to see any diversion of that to satisfy only one segment of the population — the military, for example,” McCurry said.

2. DPRK Aims in Peace Talks

The Associated Press (“N.KOREA WANTS IMPROVED TIES WITH US,

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Russian Federation

III. Analysis Response

I. United States

1. US Congressional Representatives Visit DPRK

A statement issued by the bipartisan delegation from the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that visited the DPRK August 9-11 (“STATEMENT OF HOUSE INTELLIGENCE CODEL ON N. KOREA VISIT,” USIA Transcript, 8/12/97) concluded that there exists opportunity for further constructive dialogue between the US and the DPRK. The statement said the delegation, in its meetings with DPRK officials, stressed a number of points on issues such as reducing tensions, controlling arms proliferation, the US commitment to the ROK, and DPRK commitment to current agreements. The statement said, “The delegation believes talks were constructive in demonstrating bipartisan support for United States policy to encourage North Korea to engage in honest and good faith negotiations to lessen tensions in the region.” The statement continued, “The North Koreans were focused on seeing United States sanctions lifted and the need for additional food assistance. In addition, the North Koreans stated their refusal to abandon their centralized political and economic systems. The delegation emphasized that Americans are a compassionate people, generous in their willingness to alleviate suffering, but who seek assurance that food relief is used to feed those North Korean people most in need. The delegation stressed that sanctions must be negotiated as part of a larger political package involving proliferation and other security matters.”

Reuters (“US DELEGATION SAYS PYONGYANG REFUSES TO CHANGE,” Seoul, 8/12/97) reported that US officials said Tuesday that the DPRK told the US Congressional delegation that visited August 9-11 that the US must lift economic sanctions against it and not try to change the DPRK’s centralized economic system. “The North Koreans stressed the need for the lifting of U.S. sanctions and for additional food aid,” a US embassy official said. “The North Koreans also made clear they will refuse to abandon their centralized political and economic systems,” he added. Shortly before flying to Seoul, delegation head Porter Goss, chairman of the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told a news conference in Tokyo that the DPRK also was unwilling to deal with the ROK until President Kim Young-sam ended his five-year term next February. “They absolutely want nothing to do with the present leadership,” Goss said. The ROK president has been a daily target of abuse from the DPRK official media since he refused to mourn the death of DPRK “Great Leader” Kim Il-sung in 1994. Seoul foreign ministry officials said the visit by the congressmen was the largest yet by U.S. officials. Wednesday, the delegation is due to meet ROK Foreign Minister Yoo Chong-ha and General John Tilelli, commander of the 37,000 US troops stationed in the ROK.

The AP-Dow Jones News Service (“U.S. GROUP SAYS N

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

I. United States

1. Four-Party Peace Talks Preliminary Meeting Aftermath

The AP-Dow Jones News Service (“U.S. REJECTS LINKAGE BETWEEN FOOD AID, KOREA PEACE TALKS,” Washington, 8/11/97) reported that the US State Department on Monday rejected the DPRK’s appeal on Sunday for more food aid before taking part in a Korea peace conference. [Ed. note: See following item.] US State Department spokesman James P. Rubin was quoted as saying, “We do not believe that these talks should be conditioned on anything.” “These talks are designed to improve stability on the Korean Peninsula. They’re designed to improve the situation for the people in both sides of the divide in Korea. So we don’t think they ought to be linked to other issues,” he said. Rubin noted that the US has an excellent record of responding to appeals for food aid from the UN’s World Food Program, and promised a “good hard look” by the US if the WFP issues another appeal for food. Rubin said that, in the talks, the US wants a “general” agenda that focuses on stability, security and confidence-building measures.

The Associated Press (“NKOREA DEMAND FOOD AID BEFORE TALKS,” Seoul, 8/10/97) reported that on Sunday the DPRK Foreign Ministry said the DPRK wants to discuss obtaining more food aid before joining a Korean peace conference, and that its negotiators at the four-party peace talks preliminary meeting in New York were disappointed by a US insistence that food aid could be discussed only after the peace talks open. “With serious food problems, we guard against possible use of food assistance to [the DPRK] as a political weapon at the four-way talks,” a ministry spokesman told the DPRK’s official Korean Central News Agency. The US also resisted DPRK demands to discuss the withdrawal of US troops from the ROK and a separate US-DPRK bilateral peace treaty at the New York talks, whose results the DPRK spokesman described as “below our expectations.”

Reuters (Carol Giacomo, “U.S. OPTIMISTIC ON FUTURE OF KOREA TALKS,” Washington, 8/9/97) reported that following the failure of the four-party preliminary meeting to reach agreement to begin formal Korean peace talks, US officials remained optimistic about prospects for launching the talks eventually, but also ruled out negotiating the DPRK’s demand for a withdrawal of US forces from the Korean peninsula. “We’ve deployed our troops there for a very good reason. It’s a very dangerous place. And we see no reason now to speculate on what would change in an area this dangerous,” US State Department spokesman James Rubin said Friday. [Ed. note: See the following item.] Another senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, commented, “We are not going to negotiate with the North about our troop presence.” [Ed. note: See the full text of the unnamed US official’s briefing issued as a Special Report on August 8.] However, Rubin did

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

III. Japan

I. United States

1. Four-Party Peace Talks Preliminary Meeting

The Associated Press (“KOREA TALKS ADJOURN UNTIL SEPTEMBER,” New York, 8/8/97) and Reuters (“KOREA TALKS ADJOURN AFTER FALTERING ON AGENDA,” New York, 8/7/97) reported that the four-party Korean peace talks preliminary meeting in New York on Thursday adjourned without reaching a final agreement on commencement of the formal four-party peace talks themselves. Negotiators from the US, the ROK, the DPRK and the PRC did agree to reconvene for a second round of preliminary talks in New York beginning on September 15. The goal of the preliminary meeting, under way since Tuesday at Columbia University, was to arrange the timing, venue, and agenda for the formal talks. Negotiators did agree to convene the formal talks in Geneva six weeks after they finalize all details. However, agreement on the agenda was obstructed by the DPRK’s insistence that it include the withdrawal of the 37,000 US troops now stationed in the ROK and a separate peace agreement between the US and the DPRK. The DPRK’s chief negotiator, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye-gwan, said his delegation was the only one to submit specific agenda items. “We have put forward the withdrawal of US troops from South Korea and the surrounding areas as an agenda item,” Kim said. “We also proposed to set the issue on conclusion of a peace treaty between North Korea and the United States as one of the agenda items..” A senior US official, speaking on the record but on condition of anonymity, said the US, the ROK, and the PRC all resisted these demands, preferring instead a more general agenda less focused on specific issues. However, both US and DPRK officials said they were generally satisfied with the talks. Kim said they would “greatly help” the two sides understand one another. The senior US official said, “The atmosphere of this meeting was very good, and leaves me with some confidence that when we resume next month, we will enter into an atmosphere that is still good … and that we will finish the job in that session.” [Ed. note: The full transcript of the US official’s briefing will be distributed separately.]

The New York Times (Steven Lee Myers, “KOREAN PEACE TALKS FALTER BEFORE THEY BEGIN,” Washington, 8/8/97) reported that the failure of negotiators at the four-party peace talks preliminary meeting to resolve sharp differences over the agenda for future formal peace talks was a setback to US efforts to draw the DPRK into negotiations to replace the fragile armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. The report noted that even the agreement at the meeting to hold future negotiations in Geneva six weeks after the current preliminary meetings end remained tentative, and indicated that US officials are showing signs of frustration. “You don’t come here to agree to have more preparatory talks,” one senior administration official was quoted as saying even before th

In today’s Report:

I. United States

II. Republic of Korea

I. United States

1. Four-Party Peace Talks Preliminary Meeting

The Associated Press (“NEGOTIATORS IN KOREA TALKS TACKLE SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES,” New York, 8/6/97) reported that the DPRK’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper carried a commentary on Wednesday arguing that the withdrawal of US troops from the ROK is the “key to peace” on the Korean Peninsula and must be the main topic of the four-party peace talks that negotiators in New York are now trying to arrange. The US and the ROK long have insisted that any talk of withdrawing the 37,000 US troops must follow big steps by the DPRK to reduce its military threat to the ROK. The commentary called this position “unreasonable.” “To withdraw all its troops unconditionally from South Korea and its vicinity is what the United States should do first of all for peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the commentary said. The ROK’s Yonhap News Agency said the DPRK’s demands “foreboded hard times ahead” for the four-party talks. Sources close to the four-party preliminary meeting in New York said that, in Tuesday’s opening session, DPRK vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye-guan raised the issue of the US troops, describing them as an “outside force” standing in the way of Korean reunification. However, a senior ROK official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, described the atmosphere as “cozy” and “good.” US officials, while refusing to characterize the atmosphere at the first day’s session, insisted that the DPRK’s very participation in the current talks was a positive development.

The New York Times (Steven Lee Myers, “NORTH KOREA SITS DOWN FOR TALKS WITH SOUTH KOREA AND U.S.,” New York, 8/6/97) reported that US officials see the DPRK’s willingness to participate in Korean peace talks as a sign of its desperation over its increasingly severe food shortages. One senior US official was quoted as saying that DPRK leaders apparently decided the talks are “necessary to keep the international community engaged” in providing emergency food aid. A spokesman for the ROK delegation said that during the closed negotiations, the DPRK’s deputy minister for foreign affairs and delegate to the talks, Kim Gye-gwan, expressed hopes that the talks would “result in a fruitful conclusion.” However, US officials have remained wary and have sought to lower expectations. “I think that with respect to tension on the Korean peninsula, we are better off being engaged in this process and in this structure than we would be otherwise,” a senior US State Department official was quoted as saying. “So simply having commenced has some intangible benefit.”

The Washington Post (Blaine Harden, “FOUR NATIONS OPEN PRELIMINARY PEACE TALKS ON KOREA,” New York, 8/6/97, A16) reported that the reaffirmation of the validity of the Korean armistice by a DPRK foreign ministry official on Tuesday was described on Wednesday by a US State Department official as “a