China reaffirms support for inter-Korean dialogue before nuclear talks

(ATTN: ADDS details on oil leaks, South Korea's bid for U.N. seat in last 6 paras) By Kim Deok-hyun BALI, Indonesia, July 21 (Yonhap) -- The foreign ministers of South Korea and China reaffirmed their joint stance that improvement in inter-Korean relations is a prerequisite to moving toward reopening multinational talks on North Korea's nuclear program, officials said Thursday. South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan held talks for about 40 minutes with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, on the sidelines of an ASEAN meeting on this Indonesian resort island of Bali. "During the talks, the Chinese minister expressed his support for the principle that inter-Korean dialogue on a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula should be prioritized before the resumption of the six-party talks," said Seoul's Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Byung-jae. "The two sides also agreed to continue to cooperate with each other in their efforts toward dialogue with North Korea," Cho said after the talks. The spokesman said Yang also plans to hold a bilateral meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun on Friday. Multilateral negotiations on ending North Korea's nuclear program have been stalled since late 2008. The talks group the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia. South Korea, the U.S. and other regional powers are pushing to reopen the six-party talks in a three-step approach in which North Korea will meet with South Korea first and then the U.S. for one-on-one talks on denuclearization before resuming the multilateral process. During this week's ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Kim said he is seeking to hold an informal meeting with his North Korean counterpart, Pak, who is scheduled to arrive in Bali later Thursday to attend the annual forum. Asked how Pyongyang would respond to a proposal for an informal meeting, a North Korean delegate in Bali sidestepped the question. "We will announce our stance on Saturday," the North Korean delegate told reporters, asking not to be named and referring to the date of the ARF meeting. On Kim's talks with Yang, the spokesman said the two sides agreed to swiftly provide information on offshore oil spills in the wake of oil leaks off the Gulf of Bohai, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea adjacent to South Korea. "The two ministers also agreed to actively work together, including containment works, if such a maritime accident happens," Cho told reporters. An unspecified amount of oil has leaked from the rig operated by China's largest offshore energy producer, the China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), since mid-June, and South Korea's foreign ministry had expressed concern about the oil leaks. Kim also asked Yang to support South Korea's bid for a non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council in 2013-14, Cho said, declining to clarify how the Chinese minister responded. The council has five permanent veto-wielding members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- and 10 non-permanent members elected to serve two-year terms. South Korea, which last sat on the council in 1996-97, officially applied to return to the council last year, and the U.N. will vote on the bid in October next year, foreign ministry officials said.