ID :
23073
Tue, 10/07/2008 - 13:16
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/23073
The shortlink copeid
S. Korean minister upbeat about deal on nuclear verification
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan on Tuesday hinted at progress in talks between North Korea and the United States on the verification of Pyongyang's nuclear program, saying both sides are showing flexibility.
"The U.S. is handling the issue with utmost flexibility, although there is no
change in substantial content," he told lawmakers during an annual parliamentary
inspection of his ministry's affairs. "So is North Korea," the minister added.
South Korean officials were debriefed by chief U.S. nuclear negotiator
Christopher Hill on his trip to Pyongyang last week, where he held talks with his
counterpart Kim Kye-gwan.
Hill also met with Lt. Gen. Ri Chan-bok, the North's chief military
representative to the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom, spawning media
speculation that they might have discussed military issues including a plan to
formally end the 1950-53 Korean War and Pyongyang's long-standing demand for
mutual inspections of nuclear programs in South and North Korea.
The outcome of Hill's discussions in the North remains veiled, as the U.S. and
other related nations are still in the review process. South Korea, China, Japan,
and Russia also partake in the six-party talks on the nuclear crisis.
The minister said that Hill focused on negotiating the verification issue.
"Among various news reports on Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill's
visit to North Korea was one that North Korea has offered an 'important proposal'
or delivered an ultimatum. But this is completely different from what he
discussed there," Yu said. "He had consultations with North Korea only on the
verification issue."
Yu did not provide more details.
Sung Kim, the U.S. special envoy for the six-party talks, is staying in Seoul to
convey Washington's position to the government after an internal review of Hill's
trip results, the minister added.
The securing of a verification regime to check the authenticity of the North's
recent nuclear declaration is the latest sticking point in the denuclearization
process.
The U.S. says a deal on a verification protocol that would allow soil sampling
and access to key sites is a precondition for the removal of the North from its
list of terrorism sponsoring nations under a 2007 aid-for-disarmament agreement.
Pyongyang argues that Washington's verification plan is too strict and intrusive.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan on Tuesday hinted at progress in talks between North Korea and the United States on the verification of Pyongyang's nuclear program, saying both sides are showing flexibility.
"The U.S. is handling the issue with utmost flexibility, although there is no
change in substantial content," he told lawmakers during an annual parliamentary
inspection of his ministry's affairs. "So is North Korea," the minister added.
South Korean officials were debriefed by chief U.S. nuclear negotiator
Christopher Hill on his trip to Pyongyang last week, where he held talks with his
counterpart Kim Kye-gwan.
Hill also met with Lt. Gen. Ri Chan-bok, the North's chief military
representative to the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom, spawning media
speculation that they might have discussed military issues including a plan to
formally end the 1950-53 Korean War and Pyongyang's long-standing demand for
mutual inspections of nuclear programs in South and North Korea.
The outcome of Hill's discussions in the North remains veiled, as the U.S. and
other related nations are still in the review process. South Korea, China, Japan,
and Russia also partake in the six-party talks on the nuclear crisis.
The minister said that Hill focused on negotiating the verification issue.
"Among various news reports on Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill's
visit to North Korea was one that North Korea has offered an 'important proposal'
or delivered an ultimatum. But this is completely different from what he
discussed there," Yu said. "He had consultations with North Korea only on the
verification issue."
Yu did not provide more details.
Sung Kim, the U.S. special envoy for the six-party talks, is staying in Seoul to
convey Washington's position to the government after an internal review of Hill's
trip results, the minister added.
The securing of a verification regime to check the authenticity of the North's
recent nuclear declaration is the latest sticking point in the denuclearization
process.
The U.S. says a deal on a verification protocol that would allow soil sampling
and access to key sites is a precondition for the removal of the North from its
list of terrorism sponsoring nations under a 2007 aid-for-disarmament agreement.
Pyongyang argues that Washington's verification plan is too strict and intrusive.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
