ID :
187572
Thu, 06/09/2011 - 16:56
Auther :

China reaffirms inter-Korean dialogue as a key step ahead of nuclear talks


(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with envoy's remarks; CHANGES dateline; ADDS photo)
INCHEON, June 9 (Yonhap) -- China has reaffirmed that a dialogue between South Korea and North Korea is a key step toward reviving the long-stalled nuclear disarmament talks with the North, Seoul's chief nuclear negotiator said Thursday.
Wi Sung-lack returned home after a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei in Beijing that the envoy said focused on a step-by-step approach to the resumption of the six-party talks that have been stalled since late 2008. The forum groups the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the U.S.
South Korea and China, a key ally of Pyongyang, have agreed on a three-step approach as a way to restart the six-party talks. It calls for North Korea to meet South Korea first and then the U.S. before reopening the multilateral dialogue.
"There was a shared view that an inter-Korean dialogue is more important than anything else" toward resuming the six-party talks, Wi told Yonhap News Agency upon his arrival at the Incheon international airport.


Restarting an inter-Korean dialogue should be a starting point for any efforts to resume the multilateral nuclear forum, and that has been agreed upon by members of the six-party talks, Wi said.
"We are working on the basis of such an agreement, and consultations with the U.S., Russia and Japan will take place as an extension of the agreement," Wi said.
However, hopes for reopening the six-party talks have further receded as North Korea declared it would no longer deal with South Korea and embarrassed Seoul by divulging details of secret contact the sides had last month to set up summit meetings.
In Beijing, diplomatic sources said Wu called on South Korea to be flexible on the step-by-step approach, citing the North's refusal to have any dialogue with the South. But, the South Korean envoy denied it.
On Friday, Wi plans to meet in Seoul Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. A separate meeting with Russia's deputy nuclear envoy, Grigory Logvinov, was scheduled on the same day.
Since January, South Korea has offered to hold denuclearization talks with North Korea, but the North has ignored the proposal.
The South's Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Byung-je told reporters on Thursday that the door for inter-Korean talks on nuclear issues "remains open."
Inter-Korean relations are at one of their lowest levels after the North launched deadly military attacks on South Korea last year that left a total of 50 people dead.
South Korea is demanding that the North apologize first for the military attacks and demonstrate its denuclearization commitment through action before resuming the six-party talks.

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