Four-Party Prelude To Peace Talks Falls Apart It’s Setback For U.S. Effort To Get N. Korea To Negotiate

The effort by the United States, China and the two Koreas to set up peace talks aimed at formally ending the Korean War broke off unexpectedly Thursday evening after failing to resolve differences over which topics those talks would cover, including the future of 37,000 U.S. troops in South Korea.

It was a setback to the long, tortuous effort by the United States to entice the North Koreans into negotiations to replace the fragile armistice that has held on the Korean Peninsula since 1953.

After a third day of meetings at Columbia University in New York City, the four countries could only reach agreement on the issues that officials described as the least contentious. They agreed to hold future negotiations in Geneva six weeks after the current preliminary meetings end, according to Clinton administration officials. But even those agreements remained tentative.

The delegations failed to resolve sharp differences over an agenda for the talks, as North Korea insisted that any further discussions focus on a withdrawal of U.S. troops.

The head of North Korea’s delegation, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Kim Gye Gwan, said his country had also insisted on negotiating a separate peace with the United States that would exclude South Korea, something Washington has repeatedly ruled out.

The United States, joined by South Korea and China, had argued that the agenda should deal with the broader issue of establishing peaceful relations first, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.The four countries, the main antagonists in the Korean War, agreed to resume preliminary talks in New York City starting Sept. 15.

Despite the setback, delegates on all sides tried to sound positive. Kim of North Korea said he was pleased with the meetings this week. “I think these will greatly help in our further talks,” he said.

But administration officials were showing signs of frustration. The United States and South Korea have already held a series of meetings with North Korea, involving low- and high-level delegations, since President Clinton and President Kim Young-sam of South Korea proposed the latest talks in April 1996.

This week’s meetings had been intended as “preparatory talks” simply to set an agenda for discussions, not to resolve anything substantial.

“You don’t come here to agree to have more preparatory talks,” a senior administration official said even before the meeting Thursday broke off.

The goal of the peace talks would be to replace the armistice that ended the fighting in 1953 but not, technically, the war.

The demilitarized zone, which the armistice established to separate North and South Korea, is one of the most volatile and heavily defended spots in the world.

In June, North Korea agreed to the “four party” talks after meeting with U.S. and South Korean delegations, but it asked for this week’s meetings to discuss how the talks would take shape. These were the first meetings to include China, which fought beside the North but has recently sought to improve relations with the South.

In recent years, North Korea has made improving relations with the United States a priority, but it has approached the prospect of peace talks with South Korea in fits and starts.