ID :
205670
Wed, 09/07/2011 - 06:04
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/205670
The shortlink copeid
S. Korean nuclear envoy heads to U.S. for N. Korea talks
SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top nuclear envoy left for the United States Wednesday to discuss diplomatic efforts to revive the long-stalled nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea, officials said.
The three-day trip by Wi Sung-lac to Washington, where he will meet with William Burns, deputy U.S. secretary of state, and Stephen Bosworth, Washington's special envoy on Pyongyang, comes two weeks after North Korea reportedly promised to impose a moratorium on nuclear tests if the six-party talks resume.
Speaking to Yonhap News Agency before departing for Washington, Wi said that South Korea and the U.S. "will coordinate opinions on how to move forward with talks with North Korea, including follow-up inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea dialogues."
The six-party talks on ending the North's nuclear weapons programs, involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, have been dormant since late 2008.
Since late July, however, South Korea and the U.S. have been engaged in preliminary talks with North Korea to gauge the possibility of resuming the multilateral forum.
Wi's trip to the U.S. comes as North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, during a rare summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Aug. 24, reportedly pledged to consider issuing a moratorium on nuclear testing and missile launches if the broader negotiations resume.
South Korea and the U.S. gave a cool response to the North's latest gesture as they demand Pyongyang announce such a moratorium before, not after, the six-party negotiations begin.
In Washington on Tuesday, the U.S. reiterated its downbeat view on the prospects of reopening the multilateral talks.
"We have not seen signs, as yet, from North Korea that it's prepared to meet the conditions we've set forward," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.
South Korea and the U.S. have urged the North to demonstrate its seriousness about denuclearizing through actions, not words, before the six-party talks can take place.
The three-day trip by Wi Sung-lac to Washington, where he will meet with William Burns, deputy U.S. secretary of state, and Stephen Bosworth, Washington's special envoy on Pyongyang, comes two weeks after North Korea reportedly promised to impose a moratorium on nuclear tests if the six-party talks resume.
Speaking to Yonhap News Agency before departing for Washington, Wi said that South Korea and the U.S. "will coordinate opinions on how to move forward with talks with North Korea, including follow-up inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea dialogues."
The six-party talks on ending the North's nuclear weapons programs, involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, have been dormant since late 2008.
Since late July, however, South Korea and the U.S. have been engaged in preliminary talks with North Korea to gauge the possibility of resuming the multilateral forum.
Wi's trip to the U.S. comes as North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, during a rare summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Aug. 24, reportedly pledged to consider issuing a moratorium on nuclear testing and missile launches if the broader negotiations resume.
South Korea and the U.S. gave a cool response to the North's latest gesture as they demand Pyongyang announce such a moratorium before, not after, the six-party negotiations begin.
In Washington on Tuesday, the U.S. reiterated its downbeat view on the prospects of reopening the multilateral talks.
"We have not seen signs, as yet, from North Korea that it's prepared to meet the conditions we've set forward," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.
South Korea and the U.S. have urged the North to demonstrate its seriousness about denuclearizing through actions, not words, before the six-party talks can take place.
