Seoul: A top UN envoy on Wednesday pressed with
attempts to bring North Korea back to nuclear disarmament
talks, amid speculation Pyongyang is desperate to end its
international isolation.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon's top political adviser Lynn Pascoe
is making a four-day visit to the North -- the first by a
high-level UN official since 2004.
The North's nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-Gwan is also
expected to hold more talks today in the Chinese capital after
discussions yesterday with Beijing's representatives, Yonhap
news agency said.
The South Korean agency, quoting diplomatic sources, said
the talks were thought to focus on Pyongyang's terms for
returning to the six-nation dialogue which has been running on
and off since 2003.
The North angrily quit the talks last April following
international criticism of its ballistic missile launch. It
staged its second nuclear test the following month and vowed
to restart plutonium production.
Before it returns to dialogue, Pyongyang is demanding a
lifting of UN sanctions and a US commitment to start talks
about a permanent peace treaty.
But some analysts believe the North is now desperate to
end its international isolation as food shortages grow and the
overall economic situation worsens.
South Korea's unification ministry estimated today that
the communist state faces a shortfall of 1.29 million tons of
grain this year, equivalent to almost four months' food
supply.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, February 10, 2010, 18:03