Seoul, May 02: South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun has said nuclear talks with North Korea had to go on no matter what difficulties lie ahead, ruling out military options. Roh said on Thursday that Seoul would not insist on taking part in the three-way talks among North Korea, the united states and china in order to avoid complicating the situation. "I instructed my secretaries and ministers not to upset the (dialogue) table by trying to put our foot in the meeting," Roh said in an MBC-TV debate, aired live nationwide.
What is important is not whether we are present at the talks or not but whether our interests are guaranteed," he said. "From the beginning, i said it would be fine if we could not take part in the talks." Roh stressed that the nuclear issue must be resolved peacefully. "(Those who push for) Hawkish options fail to give thoughts to any bad scenario (involving an armed conflict) or to come up with measures how to avoid it," Roh said.
Roh's top security advisor, Ra Jong-Yil, said in Washington on Wednesday that South Korea would no longer insist on being included in the talks. It was important to get substantive dialogue started, Ra said, and South Korea's participation would be inevitable later on as part of the resolution. Bureau Report