ID :
203377
Thu, 08/25/2011 - 06:42
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/203377
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S. Korean nuclear envoy heads to China for N. Korea talks
SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's chief nuclear envoy left for China Thursday to discuss diplomatic efforts to revive the long-stalled nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea, officials said.
The one-day visit by Wi Sung-lac to Beijing, where he was due to meet with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei, came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, in a rare summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, promised to consider imposing a moratorium on nuclear tests if the six-party talks resume.
Speaking to Yonhap News Agency before departing for Beijing, Wi said that he and Wu "will assess the North Korean nuclear issue and situation on the Korean Peninsula and discuss a wide range of views on how to move the process of discussions forward."
Wi added that he will "briefly talk about the results of the North Korea-Russia summit" with his Chinese counterpart.
After the summit in the Siberian city of Ulan-Ude, Kim was quoted by Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalya Timakova as saying that in the course of the nuclear talks, his country will be ready to solve the problem of imposing a moratorium on the tests and production of nuclear weapons.
Kim's reported remarks provide another indication that Pyongyang wants to rejoin the multilateral talks on ending the North's nuclear weapons programs. The talks include the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan.
South Korean officials reacted cautiously about Kim's reported pledge, saying the results of the summit talks fell short of their expectations because the issue of the North's uranium enrichment program was not discussed.
The North's revelation of its uranium-enrichment facility, which could provide the communist regime with a new method to make atomic weapons, in addition to its known plutonium-based weapons program, has added urgency to efforts to resume the six-party talks.
North Korea also has a track record of alternately using provocations and dialogue with South Korea, the U.S. and other regional powers to win concessions before backtracking on agreements and quitting the nuclear talks.
The six-party talks on ending the North's nuclear weapons programs have been stalled since late 2008 when Pyongyang abruptly left the discussion table.
After sharply raising regional tensions last year, by waging two military attacks on South Korea and revealing its uranium enrichment program, the North has expressed interest in rejoining the talks.
In late July, North Korea and the U.S. held rare high-level meetings in New York on how to resume the multilateral talks. The New York meeting followed talks between the chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and North Korea in Indonesia in which they agreed to make joint efforts to reopen the six-party talks.
South Korea and the U.S. said the North must demonstrate its seriousness about denuclearizing before the six-party talks can take place.
The one-day visit by Wi Sung-lac to Beijing, where he was due to meet with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei, came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, in a rare summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, promised to consider imposing a moratorium on nuclear tests if the six-party talks resume.
Speaking to Yonhap News Agency before departing for Beijing, Wi said that he and Wu "will assess the North Korean nuclear issue and situation on the Korean Peninsula and discuss a wide range of views on how to move the process of discussions forward."
Wi added that he will "briefly talk about the results of the North Korea-Russia summit" with his Chinese counterpart.
After the summit in the Siberian city of Ulan-Ude, Kim was quoted by Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalya Timakova as saying that in the course of the nuclear talks, his country will be ready to solve the problem of imposing a moratorium on the tests and production of nuclear weapons.
Kim's reported remarks provide another indication that Pyongyang wants to rejoin the multilateral talks on ending the North's nuclear weapons programs. The talks include the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan.
South Korean officials reacted cautiously about Kim's reported pledge, saying the results of the summit talks fell short of their expectations because the issue of the North's uranium enrichment program was not discussed.
The North's revelation of its uranium-enrichment facility, which could provide the communist regime with a new method to make atomic weapons, in addition to its known plutonium-based weapons program, has added urgency to efforts to resume the six-party talks.
North Korea also has a track record of alternately using provocations and dialogue with South Korea, the U.S. and other regional powers to win concessions before backtracking on agreements and quitting the nuclear talks.
The six-party talks on ending the North's nuclear weapons programs have been stalled since late 2008 when Pyongyang abruptly left the discussion table.
After sharply raising regional tensions last year, by waging two military attacks on South Korea and revealing its uranium enrichment program, the North has expressed interest in rejoining the talks.
In late July, North Korea and the U.S. held rare high-level meetings in New York on how to resume the multilateral talks. The New York meeting followed talks between the chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and North Korea in Indonesia in which they agreed to make joint efforts to reopen the six-party talks.
South Korea and the U.S. said the North must demonstrate its seriousness about denuclearizing before the six-party talks can take place.
