2nd LD) U.S. urges N. Korea to return to 6-way talks to discuss lifting sanctions: White House

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(ATTN: ADDS remarks by S. Korean official at bottom)
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (Yonhap) -- The United States Friday reiterated that it will
discuss the removal of sanctions or any other issues with North Korea only after
the reclusive communist state returns to the six-nation talks on its
denuclearization.

"Our focus with our partners in the six-party talks is denuclearization of the
Korean Peninsula and, once that happens, we can start looking at other things,"
Mike Hammer, spokesman for the National Security Council, said in a news briefing
at the Foreign Press Center here to mark the first anniversary of U.S. President
Barack Obama's inauguration.
Before it resumes negotiations, North Korea has called for the removal of U.N.
sanctions imposed after its nuclear and missile tests last year and also a peace
treaty to replace the fragile armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said earlier in the day he expects
North Korea to come back to the nuclear talks in mid-February, a couple of months
before a nuclear summit is to be held in Washington to follow up on Obama's
pledge last April in Prague to seek non-proliferation and eventual global
disarmament.
Otherwise, Yu said, the North will face continued sanctions and deteriorating
relations with China, its biggest benefactor, and other countries.
Hammer praised international efforts to curb the spread of North Korean nuclear
technology.
"I won't outline all the events that have taken place that have put a stop to
North Korea's efforts to proliferate," he said.
Hammer was referring to a series of incidents in which Thailand, India and
several other countries joined forces in recent months to intercept North Korean
vessels and air cargo carrying weapons, including missiles and their parts.
"As a result of that, North Korea's mind is very much focused, and hopefully they
will understand that the only way to avoid isolation is to return to the
six-party talks," Hammer said. "So the message has been clear."
The spokesman, however, said conflicting messages from the North leave him unsure
if the six-party talks will resume.
"We don't know yet if they are ready to go down that path," he said. "They
sometimes say things that are encouraging and then only to say other things that
seem to indicate that they're not prepared to do so. We also understand it takes
time to help encourage another country to change its behavior."
A visit to Pyongyang last month by Stephen Bosworth, special representative for
North Korea policy -- the Obama administration's first high-level official
contact with the North -- failed to lure Pyongyang back to the multilateral
table.
U.S. officials have said they are ready to have another face-to-face meeting to
facilitate the reopening of the negotiations.
Bosworth met Thursday with Wi Sung-lac, South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator.
"We've discussed the situation where we are now and ways to cope with
developments in the future," said Wi. "We've agreed that we will continue to work
closely to persuade North Korea back to the six-party talks."
Earlier in the day, Wi met with Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for
East Asian and Pacific Affairs, here to discuss the six-party talks.
Campbell is embarking on a tour of Seoul and Tokyo on Feb. 1 or 2 to meet with
officials on issues of mutual and multilateral concern.
A senior visiting South Korean official said that Wi discussed with U.S.
officials ways to handle North Korea's demands for a peace treaty and the removal
of sanctions as preconditions for the resumption of six-party talks.
"At the moment, I don't see any special reason for optimism," the official said,
requesting anonymity. "Rather, the reality of where we are at (in this process)
is complicated and confusing."
The official would not predict when Pyongyang might return to the six-party
talks, saying, "We are continuing with a two-track policy of imposing sanctions
and concurrently seeking dialogue."
He said that North Korea will eventually come back to the nuclear talks due to
the effective implementation of the international sanctions.
"Chances are high that North Korea will eventually think that coming back to the
six-party talks is much better than staying outside of them," he said. "North
Korea is currently trying to drive a wedge between the five other parties to the
six-party talks while presenting its new demand for the removal of sanctions and
a peace treaty."
The official also forecast a tough road ahead if and when the nuclear talks
reopen. The negotiations have been on and off since their inception in 2003.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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