ID :
193700
Fri, 07/08/2011 - 12:42
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/193700
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea seeks 5-party unity on nuclear talks on N. Korea
SEOUL, July 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign ministry said Friday that it will continue diplomatic efforts to present a united front with four other nations involved in the stalled nuclear talks with North Korea, in a bid to convince the North to show its sincerity toward denuclearization through concrete actions.
After tensions sharply escalated following the North's two deadly attacks on the South last year, North Korea has been calling for a fresh round of the six-party nuclear disarmament talks that involve the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia. The talks have been stalled since late 2008.
Regional powers have kept a wary eye on the North's intention to return to the talks, given its past pattern of raising tensions with provocations and then demanding dialogue to win concessions.
"Last year, our diplomacy on North Korea's nuclear issue was focused on working closely with the five parties to try to cease the North's past pattern of winning material gains without taking irreversible measures for denuclearization," the ministry said in its annual diplomatic paper.
"Also this year, we will continue to make diplomatic efforts to send a unified message from the five parties to North Korea, by securing cooperation from China and Russia and based on a concerted cooperation with the U.S. and Japan," it said.
North Korea, which conducted two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, is believed to have enough plutonium for at least a half-dozen bombs. In between the two attacks last year, the North also disclosed a uranium enrichment facility that could give it another source of building an atomic bomb.
South Korea and the U.S. have repeatedly called for China, the North's last remaining ally and biggest benefactor, to use its influence on the communist neighbor.
China didn't join a chorus of nations condemning North Korea for the sinking of a South Korean warship in March last year. It also failed to criticize the North for shelling an inhabited South Korean border island last November.
The two attacks killed a total of 50 South Koreans, including two civilians, but the North denies it sank the ship and claims the artillery attack was provoked by the South's firing drill.
The prospects for reopening the six-party talks dimmed as North Korea showed no signs of improving relations with the South. South Korean and U.S. officials said restarting dialogue between the two Koreas is the first step to returning to the multinational talks on ending the North's nuclear program.
After tensions sharply escalated following the North's two deadly attacks on the South last year, North Korea has been calling for a fresh round of the six-party nuclear disarmament talks that involve the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia. The talks have been stalled since late 2008.
Regional powers have kept a wary eye on the North's intention to return to the talks, given its past pattern of raising tensions with provocations and then demanding dialogue to win concessions.
"Last year, our diplomacy on North Korea's nuclear issue was focused on working closely with the five parties to try to cease the North's past pattern of winning material gains without taking irreversible measures for denuclearization," the ministry said in its annual diplomatic paper.
"Also this year, we will continue to make diplomatic efforts to send a unified message from the five parties to North Korea, by securing cooperation from China and Russia and based on a concerted cooperation with the U.S. and Japan," it said.
North Korea, which conducted two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, is believed to have enough plutonium for at least a half-dozen bombs. In between the two attacks last year, the North also disclosed a uranium enrichment facility that could give it another source of building an atomic bomb.
South Korea and the U.S. have repeatedly called for China, the North's last remaining ally and biggest benefactor, to use its influence on the communist neighbor.
China didn't join a chorus of nations condemning North Korea for the sinking of a South Korean warship in March last year. It also failed to criticize the North for shelling an inhabited South Korean border island last November.
The two attacks killed a total of 50 South Koreans, including two civilians, but the North denies it sank the ship and claims the artillery attack was provoked by the South's firing drill.
The prospects for reopening the six-party talks dimmed as North Korea showed no signs of improving relations with the South. South Korean and U.S. officials said restarting dialogue between the two Koreas is the first step to returning to the multinational talks on ending the North's nuclear program.
