Resumption of six-way talks depends on USA stance - paper.

28/10 Tass 149

PYONGYANG, October 28 (Itar-Tass) - North Korea's leading Rodong
Sinmun newspaper said on Thursday that the country was ready to resume
six-way talks on denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. At the same
time, the paper stressed that the fate of the negotiating process "depends
in the long run on the stance of the United States".
The authors of the commentary state that the interested countries have
been lately coming out in favor of the resumption of talks as soon as
possible in order "to create an atmosphere of peace and stability in North
East Asia".
However, "military ambitions of Washington, which has made South Korea
its nuclear base, prevent" that, the newspaper noted. In this condition
the decision of the North Korean leadership to create the country's own
nuclear deterrent forces in order to ensure defense of the country, is
fully justified, the Rodong Sinmun stressed.
Denuclearization of the Korean peninsula "will become possible only if
Washington abandons its nuclear threats against the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea," it summed up.
On October 16, a representative of the North Korean Foreign Ministry
told reporters that Pyongyang would not make rash steps to resume the
six-way process, as "the USA and some other its participants are not ready
for that".
At the same time he stressed that North Korea "remains committed to
the principles of the joint statement of September 19, 2005, approved" at
the talks.
Pyongyang said it was withdrawing from the process of negotiations
that involve China, Russia, the USA, Japan, and South Korea, in April 2009.
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