S. Korea, DPRK to Hold Talks on Nuclear Crisis: Roundup

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 17, 2003

S. Korea, DPRK to Hold Talks on Nuclear Crisis: Roundup

South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) have agreed to hold ministerial-level talks next week in Seoul, the first formal contact between the two parts since the DPRK nuclear crisis erupted last October while international mediation efforts continue.

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S. Korea, DPRK to Hold Talks

South Korea accepted on Wednesday a proposal of the DPRK to hold the Ninth Inter-Korean Ministerial Meeting in Seoul on Jan. 21-24.

South Korea will take advantage of the talks to discuss with the DPRK the nuclear issue, according to a news release of the Unification Ministry, whose top official will lead the South Korean delegation to the meeting.

The high-level meeting came amid a series of diplomatic efforts launched by South Korea and its allies of the United States and Japan, along with China, Russia, the European Union and Australia,to ease the nuclear standoff.

The DPRK's recent moves to unfreeze its nuclear facilities and withdraw from the NPT are due to be high on the agenda of the talks.

The previous meeting of this kind was held last October in Pyongyang. The First Inter-Korean Ministerial Meeting was held in July 2000, which was designed to fulfill the South-North Joint Declaration signed by South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and the DPRK top leader Kim Sung Il in June 2000 in Pyongyang.

S. Korea, Japan to Cooperate

South Korean President-elect Roh Moo-Hyun and visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi agreed Thursday to cooperate closely to resolve the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Both Roh and Kawaguchi emphasized the need for South Korea, the United States and Japan to cooperate closely in resolving the nuclear crisis, Roh's spokesman Lee Nak-yon said.

"We can solve the issue through dialogue if we are serious and patient about that," the spokesman quoted Roh as saying.

"Cooperation between South Korea and Japan is very important in solving the North Korean nuclear issue," said Roh, adding that he would also talk to China, Russia and the European Union to seek their support.

Chyung Dai-chul, who was recently named as Roh's special envoy to the United States on the DPRK issue, will visit the United States and Japan in late January as part of the efforts to end the nuclear standoff.

South Korean Foreign Minister Chi Sung-hong Wednesday held talks with Kawaguchi and reaffirmed the necessity of close cooperation between their two countries in finding a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue.

They also agreed that "the only way to ease the present tension is that the DPRK immediately scraps its nuclear program."

DPRK Says No to US Offer

A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the DPRK will not accept the United State's offer of food and energy supply in exchange for the dismantlement of its nuclear program.

It is against the common sense that the DPRK unilaterally lays down its arms as the DPRK and the United States are now standing in the most acute military confrontation, he said, adding that this is actually denying dialogue and negotiations.

The spokesman said it is the consistent stand of the DPRK to settle the issue on an equal footing through fair negotiations that may clear both sides of their concerns.

"We have already clarified that the DPRK is ready to solve the nuclear issue through negotiations on condition that the US recognizes the DPRK's sovereignty, assures it of non-aggression and does not obstruct its economic development," the spokesman said.

He also urged the US side to change its anti-DPRK policy for settlement of the nuclear issue.

US President George W. Bush said on Tuesday that he would reconsider a plan to give the DPRK energy and food aid if Pyongyang dismantles its nuclear program.

IAEA Calls on DPRK to Rethink

The chief of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) El Baradei reiterated the call to the DPRK to change its position of withdrawing from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on Thursday.

He said to reporters that a lot of countries understand the need for the DPRK to obtain security guarantee and satisfy its economic needs, but the country should not do so through what he called "blackmail."

It is necessary to find ways to solve these problems, and Russia, a geographically well located neighbor of DPRK, will be the best to initiate the process of the settlement, El Baradei said.

Baradei arrived at Moscow on Jan. 14. He discussed the crises over Iraq and the DPRK with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev.

Russia Says no to Mediation in the Matter

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Russia does not intend to act as a mediator in the settlement of the nuclear issue of the DPRK in a statement.

The ministry made the statement in response to the comment made by visiting head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed el Baradei, who said on Wednesday that Russia could become a leading mediator in settling the DPRK's stagnated nuclear crisis.

It expressed the belief that the issue can be resolved through constructive dialogue on a bilateral and multilateral basis, in which the positions and interests of all parties involved will be taken into account.

It noted that Russia intends to continue active diplomatic efforts to promote such dialogue, including that between the DPRK and the United States.

Moscow has promised to send Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov as an envoy to Pyongyang to help resolve the standoff.

Losyukov, who is due to leave for Pyongyang later Thursday, would make a stopover in Beijing, China on his way to the DPRK capital.

He will discuss with the DPRK leadership the situation on the Korean Peninsula and ways to normalize it, Foreign Ministry officials said.

Russia has outlined for the DPRK nuclear crisis "a package settlement plan," which calls for guaranteeing the non-nuclear status of the Korean Peninsula, strict adherence to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a 1994 agreement under which DPRK froze its nuclear program in return for fuel supplies by the United States.

Australian Delegation Continues Visit

Australian diplomat visiting Pyongyang said the talks with the Democratic People 's Republic of Korea (DPRK) were "useful and constructive."

Murray McLean, head of the five-member Australian delegation aswell as an expert on North Asian affairs of the Australian ForeignMinistry, made the remarks without elaborating on the talks.

Meanwhile, a diplomat from the DPRK Foreign Ministry told Xinhua that the Australian delegation held talks on Thursday with DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun and a director of the Asian Department of the Foreign Ministry, and listened to the DPRK's views on the nuclear issue.

The delegation also met on Wednesday with DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Choi Su-hon, a source said on condition of anonymity.

It was reported that the delegation would present a letter from Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer to his DPRK counterpart, calling on Pyongyang to cooperate with diplomatic moves to defuse the rising tensions.

The Australian delegation, which will stay here through Saturday, is the first Western delegation to visit the DPRK for settlement of the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula.

Australia established diplomatic relations with the DPRK in 1974. Broken in 1975, the diplomatic ties were resumed in 2000.

Australia has long intended to set up its embassy in Pyongyang, but the plan was suspended after the United States claimed last October that the DPRK was developing an uranium enrichment program for nuclear development, which is in violation of the Agreed Framework reached by the two sides in 1994.

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