For anyone who thought the Iraq war had cowed the North Koreans into compliance, today’s news may come as a rude awakening. As TPM noted yesterday, China’s role in the trilateral talks 
about to start in Beijing looks as much like that of a host as that of a participant. And now, prior to the talks getting underway, the North Koreans are pressing just that point.
A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said today that “at the talks the Chinese side will play a relevant role as the host state and the essential issues related to the settlement of the nuclear issue will be discussed between the DPRK and the U.S [italics added].” In other words, having gotten us to sit down to talks with a multilateral fig leaf, the North Koreans have now snatched the fig leaf back.
Indeed, China seems to be seconding that reading of the talks. This from the AP …
China’s ambassador in Seoul said North Korea and the United States should resolve their nuclear dispute themselves, and Beijing does not plan to mediate between them during talks.
“I don’t think China plans to mediate,” Ambassador Li Bin told South Korea’s MBC Radio in an interview recorded Thursday. “Although China can play a constructive role, it is the two parties concerned that should resolve the problem. How much the problem could be resolved is up to how the two parties work.”
Far more ominously, the North Koreans now say they’ve actually begun reprocessing those spent nuclear fuel rods. And in a comment sure to raise questions and speculation, the North Koreans are saying that they informed the US and “other countries concerned” last month.
