ID :
196588
Fri, 07/22/2011 - 14:51
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http://m.oananews.org//node/196588
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2 Koreas pledge to work toward early restart of 6-party nuke talks
NUSA DUA, Indonesia, July 22 Kyodo -
The chief nuclear envoys of North and South Korea met for more than two hours in Bali on Friday and pledged to work toward an early resumption of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program.
''I had a constructive and useful conversation with my counterpart,'' South Korean envoy Wi Sung Lac told reporters after meeting with North Korea's Ri Yong Ho.
Wi said the two sides ''will continue to make efforts for an atmosphere conducive'' to restarting the multilateral talks, suspended since December 2008.
Ri, talking separately to reporters, said the two sides agreed to work toward ''an early resumption'' of the talks but declined to say how soon the talks would be resumed.
The talks, held on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum, marked the first-ever meeting on nuclear issues between the two Koreas and a possible attempt to resume the six-party talks.
''The two sides started talks after the North accepted our proposal to discuss nuclear issues,'' a South Korean diplomat told South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.
Yonhap said the meeting between Wi and Ri is also aimed at paving the way for a meeting between South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Kim Sung Hwan and North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun in Bali.
Pak, who like Kim is in Bali to attend a meeting Saturday of the ASEAN Regional Forum, appeared to confirm earlier Friday that Ri, a vice foreign minister, has replaced First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan as the country's chief nuclear negotiator.
In a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Pak introduced Ri as the North Korean official ''in charge of the six-party talks'' on North Korea's nuclear programs.
The inter-Korean meeting may help improve soured bilateral relations and lead to resumption of the denuclearization talks involving the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia.
Until now, the North has refused to discuss its nuclear program one-on-one with South Korea as it has so far used its nuclear weapons program as leverage to improve ties with Washington.
Efforts to restart the negotiations have been complicated by two deadly confrontations between the two Koreas last year, as well as Pyongyang's revelation of a uranium enrichment program in November.
China, chair of the six-party talks, advocates a three-stage approach to get the six-way talks restarted, a process involving talks between North and South Korea and between North Korea and the United States prior to the resumption of the multilateral negotiations.
The meeting between Wi and Ri suggests the start of the first phase, and could lead to contacts between senior officials of the United States and North Korea.
Saturday's meeting of the ARF also brings together the six-party counterparts of the foreign ministers of the two Koreas -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto, China's Yang and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The chief nuclear envoys of North and South Korea met for more than two hours in Bali on Friday and pledged to work toward an early resumption of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program.
''I had a constructive and useful conversation with my counterpart,'' South Korean envoy Wi Sung Lac told reporters after meeting with North Korea's Ri Yong Ho.
Wi said the two sides ''will continue to make efforts for an atmosphere conducive'' to restarting the multilateral talks, suspended since December 2008.
Ri, talking separately to reporters, said the two sides agreed to work toward ''an early resumption'' of the talks but declined to say how soon the talks would be resumed.
The talks, held on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum, marked the first-ever meeting on nuclear issues between the two Koreas and a possible attempt to resume the six-party talks.
''The two sides started talks after the North accepted our proposal to discuss nuclear issues,'' a South Korean diplomat told South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.
Yonhap said the meeting between Wi and Ri is also aimed at paving the way for a meeting between South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Kim Sung Hwan and North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun in Bali.
Pak, who like Kim is in Bali to attend a meeting Saturday of the ASEAN Regional Forum, appeared to confirm earlier Friday that Ri, a vice foreign minister, has replaced First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan as the country's chief nuclear negotiator.
In a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Pak introduced Ri as the North Korean official ''in charge of the six-party talks'' on North Korea's nuclear programs.
The inter-Korean meeting may help improve soured bilateral relations and lead to resumption of the denuclearization talks involving the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia.
Until now, the North has refused to discuss its nuclear program one-on-one with South Korea as it has so far used its nuclear weapons program as leverage to improve ties with Washington.
Efforts to restart the negotiations have been complicated by two deadly confrontations between the two Koreas last year, as well as Pyongyang's revelation of a uranium enrichment program in November.
China, chair of the six-party talks, advocates a three-stage approach to get the six-way talks restarted, a process involving talks between North and South Korea and between North Korea and the United States prior to the resumption of the multilateral negotiations.
The meeting between Wi and Ri suggests the start of the first phase, and could lead to contacts between senior officials of the United States and North Korea.
Saturday's meeting of the ARF also brings together the six-party counterparts of the foreign ministers of the two Koreas -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto, China's Yang and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
