CSMS Magazine Staff WritersDespite the fact that North Korea’s leader Kim Jung Il claimed to have regretted the country’s first nuke test, reports out of the area have indicated the possibility of a second test. Last week, US intelligence sources confirmed the nuclear component of the bomb test-fired a week ago by the Pyongyang government.However, the North Korean leadership seems to have now concluded that their position has been bolstered at the negotiation table by affirming to the world and to the United States and Japan in particular that THEY too have the Bomb. Their intention to return to the six-party talk was conveyed to the Chinese envoy, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan (left in the picture with Kim Jung Il), who led a Chinese delegation to the North in an effort to convince the North Koreans to return to the negotiating table. “If the U.S. makes a concession to some degree, we will also make a concession to some degree, whether it be bilateral talks or six-party talks,” Kim was quoted as telling a Chinese envoy, the mass-circulation Chosun Ilbo reported, citing a diplomatic source in China. Kim told the Chinese delegation that “he is sorry about the nuclear test,” the newspaper reported.The delegation led by State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan met Kim on Thursday and returned to Beijing later that day — ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s arrival in the Chinese capital Friday. China is viewed as a key nation in efforts to persuade the North to disarm, as it is the North Korea’s main trading partner.
A second nuclear test seems loom on the horizon in North Korea
