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U.S., N. Korea 'talking past each other'
From CNN Producer Lisa Rose Weaver
BEIJING, China (CNN) -- A special U.N. envoy sent to Pyongyang to try to defuse a nuclear deadlock on the peninsula says North Korea and the United States are "talking past each other." But on a brighter note, Maurice Strong, who arrived in Beijing Saturday, said the two sides appear to be quite close in their understanding of the causes of the standoff, although "channels of communication" are still blocked. Amid a barrage of anti-U.S. rhetoric, North Korea has embarked on a series of steps that have fueled concern over its nuclear ambitions, including reactivating facilities frozen under a 1994 pact with Washington and pulling out of a global nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Washington insists North Korea, which it has labeled part of an "axis of evil" along with Iran and Iraq, abandon its covert nuclear program as a condition for further talks. After five days in Pyongyang where he talked to top officials, Strong said the North Koreans insist they are not developing nuclear weapons -- as the United States alleges -- and feel threatened by the possibility of U.S. military action. For their part, U.S. officials say they have no intention of attacking North Korea militarily. Strong, who is expected to report the outcome of his meeting to U.N. head Kofi Annan, declined to say whether North Korea was ready to accept a U.S. offer to resume shipments of aid and fuel oil if it abandons its alleged nuclear program. The U.N. envoy's cautiously optimistic stance comes one day after South Korea's President-elect Roh Moo-hyun urged the United States to open talks with its secretive northern neighbor in a bid to end the crisis. Commentators have repeatedly said that the impoverished North Korea is using the nuclear deadlock as a ploy to get more aid and assistance, with Roh echoing this view, saying he was optimistic Pyongyang would come around. In recent days Beijing, a long time ally of the North, has become a hub of diplomatic activity, as it is the stopping point for direct air service to Pyongyang, a two-hour flight east of the Chinese capital. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov stopped over in Beijing on Friday before departing for Pyongyang on Saturday and then heading to Washington. China has offered to host talks between the United States and North Korea as a gesture to bring a peaceful solution to the crisis. Meanwhile, North and South Korea will hold four days of cabinet-level talks in Seoul beginning next Tuesday to discuss the North's nuclear program as well as reconciliation proposals between the two Koreas. -- CNN Correspondent Lisa Rose Weaver contributed to this report
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