I already think we are in one so I suppose this simply means no expansion yet.
"Koreas aim to restart 6-party talks; In need of aid, North might offer concessions" July 23, 2011|By William Wan and Chico Harlan, Washington Post
BALI, Indonesia - Envoys from North and South Korea who met on the sidelines of a summit of Asian foreign ministers yesterday said that they had agreed to push for a revival of stalled six-party talks on nuclear disarmament by the North.
“We have agreed to make efforts to resume six-party talks as soon as possible,’’ North Korean diplomat Ri Yong Ho told reporters. Ri’s appointment as the North’s new envoy to the talks was made public earlier in the day.
His South Korean counterpart, Wi Sung Lac, called their meeting “constructive and useful.’’ US officials hailed the meeting as important but tempered their assessments with caution.
“There’s no determination to rush into anything,’’ said a senior State Department official with knowledge of the talks, who was not authorized to give his name....
Yeah, Lord help us we might actually have peace break out somewhere.
In recent months, the North has signaled a desire to return to the talks, which could lead to the isolated and authoritarian country giving up parts of its nuclear program in exchange for much-needed aid.
They sound like Israel.
The face-to-face meeting yesterday occurred at a summit of Asia’s largest security forum, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations....
Given those doubts, the next step for the United States will be to discuss the situation with South Korea and Japan, the senior State Department official said, adding that the three countries will hold a meeting today that probably will be dominated by the North Korea issue.
Just before the Korean sides met, the United States and China - one of North Korea’s few allies - discussed the issue at a sideline meeting.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi had focused on their “mutual desire for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.’’
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At the meeting, Yang also expressed Chinese displeasure over two perennial sore points: that President Obama and other US leaders had met with the Dalai Lama in Washington this month, and that the United States was considering selling fighter jets to Taiwan. Meanwhile, Clinton brought up China’s controversial claims in the South China Sea, which is believed to hold valuable oil and minerals.
Related: Bringing China Back Down to Earth
In recent weeks, Chinese forces have been accused of firing on Filipino fishermen, following a Filipino oil exploration ship, and cutting the exploration cables of a Vietnamese ship. Six countries claim portions of the territory, with China’s claim by far the largest, encompassing almost the entire region.
On Thursday, China and other countries agreed on a vague, nonbinding guideline of conduct for the South China Sea.
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"US tells North Korea to do more to restart talks" by Matthew Lee and Robin McDowell, Associated Press / July 24, 2011
BALI, Indonesia - Tentative steps by North and South Korea to repair relations are not enough to warrant renewed multination nuclear disarmament talks, the United States said yesterday at an Asian security conference where it also took a tough line on resolving tensions in the South China Sea.
Yup, the war-mongering government we all know and love.
Declaring the United States a “resident power’’ with vital strategic interests throughout the Asia-Pacific, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said North Korea must do more to improve ties with the South before Washington will consider resuming talks....
Can you imagine if China made the same claims about the Gulf of Mexico and Panama canal?
Ah, yes, the ARROGANCE of EMPIRE!
Before yesterday’s conference, China and its Southeast Asian neighbors agreed to a preliminary plan to resolve territorial disputes in the potentially resource-rich South China Sea.
China says it has historical claims to the entire, potentially resource-rich sea - of tremendous strategic importance to everyone, including Washington, because one-third of the world’s shipping transits through it.
It is believed to have vast oil and gas reserves beneath the seabed and is teeming with fish....
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