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South and North Korea to discuss nuclear standoff
Seoul, July 09: A North Korean delegation was set to fly to South Korea on Wednesday for Cabinet-level talks amid tensions over the communist North`s suspected development of nuclear weapons.
Seoul, July 09: A North Korean delegation was set to fly to South Korea on Wednesday for Cabinet-level talks amid tensions over the communist North's suspected development of nuclear weapons.
Seoul hopes to persuade Pyongyang to discuss how to end the nuclear standoff through multilateral talks involving the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and possibly Russia.
In the last Cabinet-level talks, however, North Korea was reluctant to discuss the nuclear issue with South Korea, calling it a matter between the North and the United States. Pyongyang wanted, instead, to discuss economic cooperation with the South.
The five-member North Korean delegation, accompanied by 27 support personnel, was to travel to Seoul through China.
The four-day talks are the 11th of their kind since the two Koreas held a historic summit in 2000. The last meeting took place in Pyongyang in April.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun is visiting China to try to enlist Beijing's help in peacefully resolving the nuclear standoff. China is the leading ally of reclusive North Korea, and has said it wants a Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons. Tensions flared last October when U.S. officials said Pyongyang admitted having a secret nuclear program, in violation of international agreements.
North Korea says it's willing to give up its nuclear program in return for U.S. security guarantees and economic aid.
Pyongyang insists on holding direct talks with the United States, but Washington says any talks with North Korea should also involve South Korea, Japan and Russia, as well as China. Bureau Report
Seoul hopes to persuade Pyongyang to discuss how to end the nuclear standoff through multilateral talks involving the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and possibly Russia.
In the last Cabinet-level talks, however, North Korea was reluctant to discuss the nuclear issue with South Korea, calling it a matter between the North and the United States. Pyongyang wanted, instead, to discuss economic cooperation with the South.
The five-member North Korean delegation, accompanied by 27 support personnel, was to travel to Seoul through China.
The four-day talks are the 11th of their kind since the two Koreas held a historic summit in 2000. The last meeting took place in Pyongyang in April.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun is visiting China to try to enlist Beijing's help in peacefully resolving the nuclear standoff. China is the leading ally of reclusive North Korea, and has said it wants a Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons. Tensions flared last October when U.S. officials said Pyongyang admitted having a secret nuclear program, in violation of international agreements.
North Korea says it's willing to give up its nuclear program in return for U.S. security guarantees and economic aid.
Pyongyang insists on holding direct talks with the United States, but Washington says any talks with North Korea should also involve South Korea, Japan and Russia, as well as China. Bureau Report