…
During the talks with Lewis and Hecker, North Korean officials made it clear that they intend to insist that the statement of principles acknowledge North Korea’s right to peaceful use of nuclear power, according to Charles L. “Jack” Pritchard, a former State Department Korea expert, who accompanied the two men.

To varying degrees, South Korea, China and Russia have supported the North Korean position, while Japan has backed the U.S. stance that North Korea’s behavior gives it no right to even a peaceful program, except for research for medical, agricultural or industrial use.

“The North Koreans saw a chink in the armor,” Pritchard said. “They have concluded this is a winning argument.”

Pritchard said that as a result, any statement emerging from the talks appears less likely to be as clear and definitive as U.S. officials had hoped. This in turn might drag out future negotiations.

To prod North Korea to return to the talks, Rice had declared that the United States recognized North Korea’s sovereignty. From the North Korean perspective, a sovereign nation has a right to peaceful nuclear energy, and one way the United States can demonstrate that it respects North Korea’s sovereignty is to support that right.
…