S. Korea expects six-way gathering in Moscow to break nuke deadlock

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korean delegates left Tuesday for Moscow to
attend a six-nation meeting on peace and security in Northeast Asia, holding out
hopes for a breakthrough in the stalled negotiations on the North Korean nuclear
program.
The third working group meeting on the Northeast Asia peace and security
mechanism, slated for Thursday and Friday, is to discuss detailed ways to bring
lasting peace to the region and Russia has already presented the second draft of
guiding principles, according to Hur Chul, director general of the foreign
ministry's Korean Peninsula peace regime bureau.
Russia chairs the forum in the framework of the broader six-party talks also
involving the U.S., China, and Japan. The other four working groups are designed
to discuss energy assistance for North Korea, denuclearizing the Korean
Peninsula, normalizing North Korea-U.S. relations and normalizing North
Korea-Japan ties.
This week's gathering will set the stage for the first government-level contact
among North Korea, the U.S., and the other parties since President Barack Obama's
inauguration.
"The working group meeting is significant in that it could provide momentum to
the stalled denuclearization process, although it is unlikely to produce an
immediate tangible outcome," Hur, head of the South Korean delegation said just
before his departure.
He said he has no plan yet for a separate formal meeting with his North Korean
counterpart on the sidelines of the meeting.
Pyongyang is known to be sending Jung Tae-yang, vice director general of the
foreign ministry's American bureau, while the U.S. will be represented by Deputy
Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Alexander A. Arvizu.
"I think I will be able to meet him (Jung) naturally in and outside the venue of
the session," he said.
Inter-Korean relations have ever worsened since South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak assumed power a year ago with a pledge to take a carrot-and-stick
approach toward Pyongyang. North Korea has churned out bellicose statements and
missile threats in protest.
The Moscow meeting coincides with a trip by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton to Seoul, which is part of her first regional tour in her capacity as
Washington's top diplomat. During her stay here, Clinton is expected to make
clear Washington's will to focus on ridding North Korea of all of its nuclear
program.
The six-way disarmament talks are in a stalemate again over how to verify
Pyongyang's declaration of its nuclear program. The North has refused to allow
international inspectors to take samples from its main nuclear site in Yongbyon.
The latest session of the tumultuous negotiations was held in Beijing last
December but no date has been set for the next round.
The South Korean delegation is scheduled to return to Seoul on Sunday.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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