ID :
71759
Thu, 07/23/2009 - 15:54
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/71759
The shortlink copeid
(LEAD) S. Korea working on incentives for N. Korean denuclearization: Lee aide
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; ADDS background throughout)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, July 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is working with other nations to offer
North Korea an array of incentives for full denuclearization once the communist
state is pressured back into disarmament talks, a top presidential aide said
Thursday.
The U.N. toughened existing sanctions on North Korea after it conducted its
second nuclear test on May 25, just weeks after it launched a long-range rocket
suspected of being a modified ballistic missile.
Kim Sung-hwan, senior presidential secretary on foreign and security affairs,
said the sanctions appear to be taking a toll on the North Korean leadership and
could bring it back to disarmament talks that also include the United States,
China, Russia and Japan.
"North Korea is currently in a phase of sanctions. But the other five other
nations of the six-nation talks are discussing what will be included in our
comprehensive proposal once the punishment is over," he said in a lecture in
Seoul.
"The five-way dialogue is a chance to discuss not how to implement sanctions on
North Korea, but what to discuss with North Korea" when Pyongyang returns to
talks, he said.
His comments came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said her
government is willing to normalize diplomatic ties with North Korea if it agrees
to "irreversible denuclearization."
She made the comment after holding a series of meetings with her Chinese,
Russian, Japanese, and South Korean counterparts in Phuket, Thailand, where an
Asian regional security forum was underway.
Kim said South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama
agreed during their summit last month in Washington to prepare a package deal for
Pyongyang if it chooses to end its isolation.
"The purpose of the sanctions is not sanctioning itself, but to press North Korea
to drop its nuclear weapons programs and come back to talks," Kim said.
"Preparations will be made for when the sanctions run their course," he said,
adding that he does not expect the "phase of sanctions" to end anytime soon.
Kim said South Korea remains willing to offer North Korea a stake in its
agreement with Russia to buy hundreds of tons of natural gas starting in 2015.
"If pipelines run through North Korea, the country can win money without worrying
about opening up," which the isolated nation fears would bring outside influence,
Kim said.
Relations between the two Koreas have fallen to a low point since President Lee
took office early last year with a pledge to tie reconciliation to
denuclearization.
Kim rejected characterizations of South Korea's policy on North Korea as
"hard-line," and called on Pyongyang to "recognize Seoul as a partner in talks."
"We are the only country genuinely interested in helping the North," he said,
adding that Pyongyang should not bypass Seoul when it talks to Washington.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, July 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is working with other nations to offer
North Korea an array of incentives for full denuclearization once the communist
state is pressured back into disarmament talks, a top presidential aide said
Thursday.
The U.N. toughened existing sanctions on North Korea after it conducted its
second nuclear test on May 25, just weeks after it launched a long-range rocket
suspected of being a modified ballistic missile.
Kim Sung-hwan, senior presidential secretary on foreign and security affairs,
said the sanctions appear to be taking a toll on the North Korean leadership and
could bring it back to disarmament talks that also include the United States,
China, Russia and Japan.
"North Korea is currently in a phase of sanctions. But the other five other
nations of the six-nation talks are discussing what will be included in our
comprehensive proposal once the punishment is over," he said in a lecture in
Seoul.
"The five-way dialogue is a chance to discuss not how to implement sanctions on
North Korea, but what to discuss with North Korea" when Pyongyang returns to
talks, he said.
His comments came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said her
government is willing to normalize diplomatic ties with North Korea if it agrees
to "irreversible denuclearization."
She made the comment after holding a series of meetings with her Chinese,
Russian, Japanese, and South Korean counterparts in Phuket, Thailand, where an
Asian regional security forum was underway.
Kim said South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama
agreed during their summit last month in Washington to prepare a package deal for
Pyongyang if it chooses to end its isolation.
"The purpose of the sanctions is not sanctioning itself, but to press North Korea
to drop its nuclear weapons programs and come back to talks," Kim said.
"Preparations will be made for when the sanctions run their course," he said,
adding that he does not expect the "phase of sanctions" to end anytime soon.
Kim said South Korea remains willing to offer North Korea a stake in its
agreement with Russia to buy hundreds of tons of natural gas starting in 2015.
"If pipelines run through North Korea, the country can win money without worrying
about opening up," which the isolated nation fears would bring outside influence,
Kim said.
Relations between the two Koreas have fallen to a low point since President Lee
took office early last year with a pledge to tie reconciliation to
denuclearization.
Kim rejected characterizations of South Korea's policy on North Korea as
"hard-line," and called on Pyongyang to "recognize Seoul as a partner in talks."
"We are the only country genuinely interested in helping the North," he said,
adding that Pyongyang should not bypass Seoul when it talks to Washington.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
