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Seoul to Propose Reopening of 4-Party Talks
Seoul is expected to propose shortly that DPRK join South Korea, the United States and China to resume the four-party peace talks, in which the parties will discuss ways to replace the fragile Korean Armistice Agreement with a peace treaty, a senior South Korean official said on Sunday.
``When the North pulled out in August last year, relations between Pyongyang and Washington were at their low,'' said the official who accompanies President Kim Dae-jung's ongoing Southeast Asian swing. ``But the situation has improved now and the government is convinced that it is time to resume the stalled talks aimed at making the way for a lasting peace on the Korean peninsula.''
The official, requesting anonymity, indicated that the talks will be resumed late this year or early next year at the latest.
The ultimate purpose of the four-party talks, which saw six rounds of negotiations since 1997, is to replace the current armistice with a more stable peace treaty between South and North. The talks, however, have been on the treacherous path since the launch, with its subcommittees failing to produce any concrete results on such issues as the installation of a military hotline.
The official said that the South had in-depth discussions with China regarding the resumption of the talks. ``China has promised full support to the resumption of the talks, should we propose,'' he said, adding that the United States has long been in support of reopening the talks.
He said that the proposal will be conveyed to Pyongyang through a channel of communication he didn't reveal but expressed optimism that the North will respond positively, considering friendly gestures it has recently made in terms of inter-Korean relations.
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