Columbia International Affairs Online
CIAO DATE: 6/5/2007
The North Korean Nuclear Crisis: Four-plus-two - an idea whose time has come
November 2003
Australian National University Department of International Relations
Abstract
The six-party negotiations on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) nuclear programs, held in Beijing in August 2003, concluded with nothing more than the expectation that the six participating nations would meet again—no time or place was announced. Meanwhile, North Korea threatened to escalate tensions further by testing a nuclear device, while the US remained undecided about how to proceed.
Was anything achieved in the August meetings? Is a peaceful solution to the North Korean nuclear crisis possible? If so, what is most needed to produce a mutually acceptable conclusion to the crisis?
