Six-Party Talks On Hold Until Obama Takes Office

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http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=cqmidday-000002990648

Six-Party Talks On Hold Until Obama Takes Office


The nuclear crisis in Northeast Asia has reached a critical juncture as six Pacific countries wait for President-elect Barack Obama to restart the delicate negotiations aimed at closing one of the last chapters of the Cold War.

The Six-Party Talks, which the Bush administration devised to blunt North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, are effectively on hold until Obama assumes office on Jan. 20. The North Koreans see Obama’s ascendency as an opportunity to start fresh without the mutual mistrust that plagued their dealings with President Bush over the last eight years.

Obama’s choice for the position of chief negotiator in the talks will be crucial. That official will have three tasks: continuing the process left by outgoing negotiator Christopher Hill, developing a long-term strategy to address North Korea’s final status, and repairing damaged relations with regional allies.

“There is no easy solution, no magic bullet, no secret negotiating strategy that would solve this problem,” said former campaign adviser L. Gordon Flake, executive director of the Mansfield Foundation, a think tank that focuses on northeast Asian issues. “No one should be under any illusions that this is a problem that will be solved quickly or easily.”