S.Korea Urges DPRK, US to Hold Talks as Soon as Possible

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, April 14, 2003

S.Korea Urges DPRK, US to Hold Talks as Soon as Possible

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South Korea hoped that the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) would begin talks as early as possible now that Pyongyang had said it would not stick to any particular dialogue form for resolving the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, a top South Korean diplomatsaid on Monday.

South Korea was also expected to increase its diplomatic efforts to create a favorable atmosphere for the dialogue, said South Korean Foreign and Trade Minister Yoon Young-kwan in a meeting with US Ambassador Thomas Hubbard Monday morning.

According to South Korean official news agency Yonhap News, Yoon Young-kwan summoned Hubbard Monday morning to convey his government's view on DPRK's softening stance on the nuclear issue.

The meeting was held after a DPRK Foreign Ministry spokesman issued a statement on Saturday that Pyongyang would not stick to any particular dialogue form for settlement of the nuclear issue if the United States drops its anti-DPRK policy.

The nuclear standoff erupted last October after US officials declared that DPRK admitted having developed nuclear programs in breach of a 1994 agreed framework signed between the US and DPRK.

DPRK then announced pullout from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in January and reactivated its frozen nuclear facilities to make up its shortage of power.

Pyongyang had repeatedly said that the only way to solve the nuclear issue was to hold bilateral talks with Washington and signa non-aggression treaty with the US to guarantee DPRK's sovereignty.

However, the Bush administration insisted resolving the nuclear standoff within a multilateral form, in which relative countries, including DPRK, the US, South Korea, Russia, China and Japan, could hold dialogues.

Yoon Young-kwan paid a visit to the US and Japan in March and informed the two countries of a plan for dealing with the nuclear issue.

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