Second Round of Inter-Korean Ministerial Talks Ends

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, April 28, 2003

Second Round of Inter-Korean Ministerial Talks Ends

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) nuclear issue became the main topic of the second round of the 10th Inter-Korean Ministerial Meeting which concluded on Monday morning, a spokesman from the South Korean delegation said.

South Korean delegates urged the DPRK to scrap its alleged nuclear weapons program, reaffirming their government's stance of never tolerating the DPRK's possession of nuclear weapons, South Korean national news agency Yonhap News quoted Shin Eon-sang, spokesman of the South Korean delegation, as saying.

"We again urged the DPRK to honor the South-North joint declaration on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula singed in 1992," said Shin Eon-sang.

"At the 45-minute session, we called on the DPRK to find a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue in a prompt manner, as Pyongyang has started a multilateral dialogue with related countries," the spokesman said.

The United States, the DPRK and China last week concluded a three-day tripartite talks in Beijing on the nuclear crisis, the first of its kind since the nuclear issue erupted last October.

According to Shin, South Korea also expressed its determination to push ahead with inter-Korean economic projects and exchanges.

South Korea also proposed that the two countries resolve the issues of reunions of family members separated in the Korean War (1950-1953), South Korean soldiers caught by the DPRK during the conflict and South Koreans abducted by the DPRK since the end of the war, the spokesman said.

The chief of the DPRK delegation Kim Ryong Song responded to the South's demand by reiterating DPRK's earlier stance that the nuclear dispute is the matter between Pyongyang and Washington, but adding "Our basic position is the nuclear issue should be resolved peacefully through dialogue," Shin quoted Kim Ryong Song as saying.

Moreover, the DPRK delegates stressed the importance of honoring the spirit of agreements on inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation signed at the 2000 summit between then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and DPRK leader Kim Jong Il, the spokesman said.

South Korean negotiators for the three-day ministerial talks arrived in Pyongyang Sunday morning and held first plenary session with their DPRK counterparts in Koryo Hotel Monday afternoon.

The South Korean delegation is scheduled to return to Seoul on Tuesday.

Questions?Comments? Click here

Inter-Korean Ministerial Talks Set for April 27-29

DPRK Proposes Inter-Korean Ministerial Talks

China to Send Lunar-Probe Satellite in 3 Years: Expert ( 2 Messages)

Analysis: Germany Softening Anti-War Tone as It Enters UN Security Council ( 3 Messages)

Chinese Premier Pledges to Improve SARS Control ( 2 Messages)

China Launches First "Indigenous" Management Theory ( 9 Messages)

China Protects Safety of People from Overseas ( 3 Messages)