ID :
203440
Thu, 08/25/2011 - 10:53
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/203440
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Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, China hold talks on N. Korea
SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) - The chief nuclear negotiators from South Korea and China held talks in Beijing on Thursday on how to revive the long-stalled nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea, officials said.
The one-day meeting between Wi Sung-lac and 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.
Seoul and Washington have requested that Pyongyang initiate such a moratorium before, not after, they reopen the multilateral talks.
"Because there are some obscure points in the reported remarks made by Kim, we will try to grasp the meaning of the remarks by receiving a debriefing from the Russian side," said Shin Maeng-ho, a spokesman at Seoul's foreign ministry.
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called the North's reported pledge "insufficient."
"If in fact they are now willing to refrain from nuclear testing and missile launches, this would be welcome, but it would be insufficient," Nuland said, adding the U.S. "will not go back to the six-party talks until North Koreans are prepared to meet all of the commitments that we've all laid out."
South Korea has called for North Korea to suspend all of its nuclear activities, including the uranium enrichment program, and allow U.N. inspectors to verify the suspension before the multilateral talks reopen.
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.
kdh@yna.co.kr
The one-day meeting between Wi Sung-lac and 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.
Seoul and Washington have requested that Pyongyang initiate such a moratorium before, not after, they reopen the multilateral talks.
"Because there are some obscure points in the reported remarks made by Kim, we will try to grasp the meaning of the remarks by receiving a debriefing from the Russian side," said Shin Maeng-ho, a spokesman at Seoul's foreign ministry.
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called the North's reported pledge "insufficient."
"If in fact they are now willing to refrain from nuclear testing and missile launches, this would be welcome, but it would be insufficient," Nuland said, adding the U.S. "will not go back to the six-party talks until North Koreans are prepared to meet all of the commitments that we've all laid out."
South Korea has called for North Korea to suspend all of its nuclear activities, including the uranium enrichment program, and allow U.N. inspectors to verify the suspension before the multilateral talks reopen.
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.
kdh@yna.co.kr
