Seoul, Nov 18: A senior South Korean official today
said he was not 'confident' that Communist North Korea would
be persuaded to give up its nuclear ambitions at six-nation
talks expected to take place next month.
The comments by Kim Hee-Sang, national defence advisor
for President Roh Moo-Hyun, came as a senior US envoy and
Japan's defence chief pledged in Tokyo to use "dialogue and
pressure" to coax the North into scrapping its nuclear weapons
development.
In South Korea, Kim said the North would be reluctant to
relinquish its nuclear programmes because it was the last
playing card that the impoverished and isolated state has.
"I cannot be confident on whether the six-nation talks
can get North Korea to give up its willingness to arm itself
with nuclear weapons," Kim said in a speech at a symposium.
Kim's comments were carried by South Korea's Yonhap News
Agency, and could not be immediately confirmed by his office.
Efforts are underway to reopen the nuclear talks
involving the two Koreas, Japan, the United States, China and
Russia. Another senior South Korean official yesterday said he
expected the talks to take place on dec. 17-18 in Beijing.
US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, who is on a
three-nation tour of Asia, expressed hope that the talks
would happen next month, but added that a specific date was
still not set. But he said he was "going to Beijing to do more
work on that problem".
Bureau Report
