N. Korea, U.N. Command to hold additional talks this week

(ATTN: DELETES para 5 saying N. Korea demanded removal of UN Command; ADDS
participants of Wednesday's talks in para 6, statement by S. Korean defense
spokesman in para 8)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korea will hold a series of additional meetings
this week with the U.S.-led United Nations Command as tension mounts along its
border with South Korea, officials said Tuesday.

The U.N. Command in South Korea monitors the cease-fire that ended the 1950-53
Korean War, and is led by an American commander who controls the 28,500 U.S.
troops stationed here.
On Monday, North Korea opened the first general-level talks with the U.N. Command
in nearly seven years at the borderline village of Panmunjom.
In the meeting that lasted a little more than 30 minutes, the North demanded
South Korea and the U.S. drop their plan to hold a joint annual drill scheduled
for March 9-20, a South Korean official said.
North Korea and the U.N. Command will hold additional talks on Wednesday and
Friday, a South Korean official said Tuesday on condition of anonymity.
North Korean ranking officer Kwak Yong-hun will likely participate in the
Wednesday talks while U.S. Army Col. Kurt Taylor will act as his counterpart, the
official said.
Kim Yong-kyu, a spokesman for U.S. Forces Korea, said colonel-level talks precede
general-level discussions and confirmed the talks are scheduled for this week.
He said specific dates have yet to be set. South Korean defense spokesman Won
Tae-jae also told reporters the two sides have yet to fix the schedule.
The meetings come as North Korea escalates regional tensions by preparing to
launch what appears to be a ballistic missile capable of reaching Alaska. The
communist state claims it is readying to launch a satellite.
Pyongyang has also declared void all its past military agreements with Seoul,
warning of an armed clash along their U.N.-drawn western sea border.
North Korea on Saturday condemned the U.S., saying it has increased provocative
moves inside the Demilitarized Zone that cuts across the peninsula. The U.S. said
it has conducted routine monitoring activities.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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