ID :
188907
Thu, 06/16/2011 - 05:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/188907
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea Says Invitation to N. Korean Leader Remains on Table
South Korea said on June 13 its previous offer to invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to next year's international security summit in Seoul remains on the table.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak unveiled the offer during a trip to Berlin in May on condition that Pyongyang firmly commits to nuclear disarmament and apologizes for last year's two deadly attacks on the South.
A North Korean committee handling the propaganda issue has denounced Lee's proposal as "ridiculous," though Seoul officials have said they did not consider the initial reaction to be an official response.
On June 13, a senior South Korean official told reporters that Seoul's offer is still on the table. "We have not withdrawn our offer," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, citing policy.
Seoul is scheduled to host the Nuclear Security Summit in March that would bring together about 50 world leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama.
The offer, if realized, would give a rare opportunity for the reclusive North Korean leader to travel to Seoul for summit talks with Lee and potential encounters with Obama and other world leaders.
Kim held summit talks with Lee's two liberal predecessors in Pyongyang, first in 2000 and again 2007.
The North has long yearned to hold a bilateral meeting with the United States as a way to address its nuclear program. Pyongyang has said it developed nuclear weapons to guarantee its security against the perceived threat posed by Washington.
Still, the prospect of Kim's trip to Seoul next year has further dimmed in recent weeks as the two Koreas accused each other of distorting the facts of their secret meeting in Beijing in May.
The North claimed that Seoul negotiators said the secret meeting was arranged to try to set up inter-Korean summit talks and that Seoul negotiators offered an envelope of cash as an inducement.
However, Seoul insisted the meeting was aimed at winning North Korea's apology for its two deadly attacks on the South last year that killed a total of 50 people, most of them soldiers.
Seoul has made Pyongyang's apology for the two attacks a key condition for improving inter-Korean relations and resuming the stalled six-party talks on ending the socialist regime's nuclear weapons programs.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak unveiled the offer during a trip to Berlin in May on condition that Pyongyang firmly commits to nuclear disarmament and apologizes for last year's two deadly attacks on the South.
A North Korean committee handling the propaganda issue has denounced Lee's proposal as "ridiculous," though Seoul officials have said they did not consider the initial reaction to be an official response.
On June 13, a senior South Korean official told reporters that Seoul's offer is still on the table. "We have not withdrawn our offer," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, citing policy.
Seoul is scheduled to host the Nuclear Security Summit in March that would bring together about 50 world leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama.
The offer, if realized, would give a rare opportunity for the reclusive North Korean leader to travel to Seoul for summit talks with Lee and potential encounters with Obama and other world leaders.
Kim held summit talks with Lee's two liberal predecessors in Pyongyang, first in 2000 and again 2007.
The North has long yearned to hold a bilateral meeting with the United States as a way to address its nuclear program. Pyongyang has said it developed nuclear weapons to guarantee its security against the perceived threat posed by Washington.
Still, the prospect of Kim's trip to Seoul next year has further dimmed in recent weeks as the two Koreas accused each other of distorting the facts of their secret meeting in Beijing in May.
The North claimed that Seoul negotiators said the secret meeting was arranged to try to set up inter-Korean summit talks and that Seoul negotiators offered an envelope of cash as an inducement.
However, Seoul insisted the meeting was aimed at winning North Korea's apology for its two deadly attacks on the South last year that killed a total of 50 people, most of them soldiers.
Seoul has made Pyongyang's apology for the two attacks a key condition for improving inter-Korean relations and resuming the stalled six-party talks on ending the socialist regime's nuclear weapons programs.
