Koreas set to resume bilateral nuclear talks

BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Yonhap) -- The chief nuclear negotiators of South and North Korea will again sit down on Wednesday to discuss terms for resuming the long-stalled six-nation talks on ending the North's nuclear weapons program, officials said.
Wi Sung-lac of South Korea and Ri Yong-ho of North Korea were set to meet at a hotel in Beijing for their second meeting since late July. The July contact in Indonesia and a subsequent meeting between senior U.S. and North Korean officials have raised prospects for resuming the six-party talks, but no major progress has been made.



The six-party talks grouping the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia have been dormant since Pyongyang quit in April 2009 and conducted its second nuclear test a month later.
The North's military attacks on South Korea last year, together with its self-confessed uranium enrichment program, have created new hurdles to efforts by regional powers to reopen the six-nation talks.
After sharply raising tensions, the North has expressed its willingness in recent months to return to the talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear program in exchange for economic assistance.
The question now is whether Pyongyang will accept "pre-steps" demanded by Seoul and Washington before the resumption of the six-party talks.
Seoul and Washington have insisted that Pyongyang halt all nuclear activities, including its uranium enrichment program, and allow U.N. inspectors to monitor the suspension before the six-party talks reopen.
On Tuesday, Wi told reporters that he wants to achieve a "fruitful result" at the Wednesday meeting with an "open and flexible mind."
Still, chances for progress appeared to be low as the North's chief envoy Ri on Monday repeated calls for an "unconditional" resumption of the six-party forum.
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