N. Korea faces constant pressure over enrichment program: ministry

SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Monday it will keep pressing North Korea to address its uranium enrichment program that could provide the communist regime with new material to make atomic weapons, if the two sides hold a second round of bilateral nuclear talks.
The nuclear envoys of the two Koreas met in Indonesia for the first time in more than two years in late July, setting the tone for renewed diplomatic efforts to reopen the stalled six-party talks, which also involve the U.S., China, Japan and Russia.
The North's uranium program is among the key hurdles to the resumption of the six-party dialogue, which has been stalled since late 2008. The July inter-Korean talks led to a rare "exploratory" meeting between senior diplomats from the North and the U.S. in New York and South Korea is seeking to hold a second round of bilateral talks with the North.
South Korea "will continue to make diplomatic efforts to try to let the international community define the illegality of North Korea's uranium enrichment program," the foreign ministry said in a report submitted to the National Assembly.
"Based on such efforts, we will discuss the issue of the uranium enrichment program if talks with North Korea resume," the report said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, during a rare summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last week, reportedly pledged to consider issuing a moratorium on nuclear testing and missile launches if the six-party talks resume.
The North's gesture received a cool response from South Korea and the U.S., which have been pressing Pyongyang to announce such a moratorium before, not after, the multilateral negotiations begin. Also, there was no mention of the North's uranium enrichment program after the Kim-Medvedev talks.
Since Pyongyang unveiled its modern uranium enrichment facility last November, Seoul has sought to take the North's uranium program to the U.N. Security Council for new sanctions. But China opposes the move, arguing that the issue can be handled at the six-party talks, according to South Korean officials.
North Korea is currently under U.N. sanctions for its defiant missile and nuclear tests in 2009.
kdh@yna.co.kr