ID :
203388
Thu, 08/25/2011 - 07:01
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/203388
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N. Korean media carries reports of Kim's summit with Medvedev
SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's state-run news agency said Thursday leaders of North Korea and Russia have called for a quick resumption of the long-stalled talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a military base on the outskirts of the eastern Siberian city of Ulan-Ude on Wednesday.
"At the talks they shared the view that the six-party talks should be resumed without any preconditions at an early date," the North's official Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch from Pyongyang.
The dispatch, however, did not mention Kim's reported promise to impose a moratorium on nuclear tests if the disarmament-for-aid talks are resumed.
The North quit the talks in 2009, though it has since repeatedly expressed its desire to return to the talks that involve South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.
South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Wi Sung-lac, left for Beijing on Thursday for one-day talks with his Chinese counterpart to discuss how to move the nuclear talks forward.
Still, the nuclear talks appear unlikely to resume anytime soon, considering the lukewarm reactions from Seoul and Washington over Kim's reported promise.
Seoul and Washington have pressed Pyongyang to first demonstrate its denuclearization commitment before returning to the negotiating table.
"If in fact they are now willing to refrain from nuclear tests and missile launches, this would be welcome, but it would be insufficient," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington.
She said the North's uranium enrichment program remains a serious concern as it could give the communist country a second path to develop its nuclear arsenal.
The North conducted two plutonium-based weapons tests each in 2006 and 2009. After years of denial, the North disclosed its uranium enrichment facilities last November.
Pyongyang has a track record of alternately using provocations and dialogue with South Korea, the United States and other regional powers to try to wrest concessions before backtracking on agreements and quitting the nuclear talks.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a military base on the outskirts of the eastern Siberian city of Ulan-Ude on Wednesday.
"At the talks they shared the view that the six-party talks should be resumed without any preconditions at an early date," the North's official Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch from Pyongyang.
The dispatch, however, did not mention Kim's reported promise to impose a moratorium on nuclear tests if the disarmament-for-aid talks are resumed.
The North quit the talks in 2009, though it has since repeatedly expressed its desire to return to the talks that involve South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.
South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Wi Sung-lac, left for Beijing on Thursday for one-day talks with his Chinese counterpart to discuss how to move the nuclear talks forward.
Still, the nuclear talks appear unlikely to resume anytime soon, considering the lukewarm reactions from Seoul and Washington over Kim's reported promise.
Seoul and Washington have pressed Pyongyang to first demonstrate its denuclearization commitment before returning to the negotiating table.
"If in fact they are now willing to refrain from nuclear tests and missile launches, this would be welcome, but it would be insufficient," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington.
She said the North's uranium enrichment program remains a serious concern as it could give the communist country a second path to develop its nuclear arsenal.
The North conducted two plutonium-based weapons tests each in 2006 and 2009. After years of denial, the North disclosed its uranium enrichment facilities last November.
Pyongyang has a track record of alternately using provocations and dialogue with South Korea, the United States and other regional powers to try to wrest concessions before backtracking on agreements and quitting the nuclear talks.
