Talks on Korean Peace Collapse
Four-way talks aimed at a permanent peace settlement on the Korean peninsula collapsed Saturday with North Korea threatening to walk out of the process because the U.S. is refusing to discuss the withdrawal of its 37,000 troops from South Korea.
The talks broke up in chaos as the U.S. and North Korea accused each other of intransigence.
Officials in Geneva said the impasse came early on. The U.S. and South Korea wanted to discuss confidence-building steps first to reduce tensions, but North Korea insisted on a U.S. commitment on troop pullout from South Korea and a peace treaty between Washington and Pyongyang before any talks--issues nonnegotiable to the United States.
China, another participant, blamed both sides for failure in the talks to end half a century of tension on the peninsula.
The aim of the talks is to replace a fraying Korean War armistice with a permanent peace pact.
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