Senior U.S. Official: North Korea Should Learn from Iran Negotiations

A senior U.S. official states that nuclear talks with Iran could serve as a lesson for North Korea, indicating that Washington is willing to engage with 'reliable' negotiating partners. Sydney Seiler, the U.S. representative in six-party talks with Pyongyang, mentioned on April 20 that Cuba and Myanmar are other examples where Washington is open to dialogue. The U.S. and Cuba have decided to resume diplomatic relations after decades, while Western sanctions on Myanmar have eased with the onset of gradual political reforms in the country. According to the Associated Press, Seiler, speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an influential think tank in Washington, noted that there is no indication that North Korea has learned a 'lesson' from recent nuclear negotiations with Iran; 'if that were the case, we would have seen it sooner.' This American diplomat stated that Washington is actually seeking a different kind of negotiation with North Korea, asserting that Pyongyang must halt its nuclear program and missile tests for talks to be possible. Seiler added, 'The entire international community is waiting to see such a change in Pyongyang's behavior, and such a behavioral change will receive a positive response.' The six-party talks, which involve representatives from North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, the U.S., and Russia, last occurred in 2008. The last formal negotiation between Washington and Pyongyang dates back three years. An agreement was reached whereby North Korea was to receive food and basic necessities from the U.S. in exchange for halting its nuclear program, but this was rendered void by North Korea's missile test in 2012 and its third nuclear test shortly thereafter. The latest round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the so-called P5+1 countries will resume on Wednesday in Vienna, Austria, at the deputy foreign minister level, with parties striving to reach an understanding in Lausanne and aiming for a comprehensive agreement.