Seoul: South Korean and Chinese officials
will hold talks in Seoul next week to discuss the situation in
North Korea after the death of leader Kim Jong-Il, the foreign
ministry said on Friday.
First Vice Minister Park Suk-Hwan and Chinese Vice
Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun are expected to meet on Tuesday,
a spokeswoman said.
She said the annual strategic talks would give the two
countries a chance to discuss the aftermath of Kim`s death.
"The meeting is aimed at sharing views on the current
situation after the passing of Kim Jong-Il and consulting on
the way forward regarding the Korean Peninsula," Yonhap news
agency quoted an unidentified official as saying.
Efforts to revive six-party negotiations on scrapping the
North`s nuclear programme would also be discussed, he said.
Seoul`s chief nuclear delegate Lim Sung-Nam visited China
yesterday and today for talks with his counterpart Wu Dawei.
The six-party talks, chaired by China and also involving
the two Koreas, the United States, Russia and Japan, have been
at a standstill since December 2008.
Negotiations to resurrect them appeared to be making
progress before Kim`s death last Saturday. Media reports said
Pyongyang would agree to suspend its uranium enrichment
programme in return for food aid from Washington.
Suspending the uranium programme -- seen as a potential
source of bomb-making fuel -- is a key US demand before the
six-party talks resume.
PTI
