NKorea seeks talks on peace treaty to formally end Korean War

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18/1 Tass 157

PYONGYANG, January 18 (Itar-Tass) - The North Korean Foreign Ministry
once again called on Monday for talks on a peace treaty to formally put an
end to the Korean War of 1950-1953.
Discussions on the North Korean nuclear problem may take place only
after "the interested countries" discuss the issue of a peace treaty, the
Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted a statement of the North Korean
Foreign Ministry on Monday.
"Attempts to advance the process of denuclearisation before discussing
the problem of the establishment of a peace regime (on the Korean
peninsula) have yielded no results as of yet," Pyongyang said.
The Foreign Ministry stressed that consultations on the nuclear
problem will be constructive only when "trust is established" among the
countries participants in the talks. "North Korea's offer to sign a peace
treaty is aimed at breaking the vicious circle of mistrust," the ministry
statement said.
It also said Pyongyang will be ready to return to six-way talks on
denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula only after the U.N. Security
Council lifts its sanctions.
"We are not against six-way talks, and we have no reasons to delay
(their resumption)," the Foreign Ministry said. However, North Korea
cannot "sit down at the negotiating table with countries that violate its
sovereignty and discuss with them (the liquidation of) its nuclear
deterrents, created to protect the independence of the republic," the
statement stressed.
North Korea announced the withdrawal from six-party consultations on
its nuclear problem last April. Two Koreas, China, the United States,
Russia and Japan participated in the talks.
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