ID :
76565
Sun, 08/23/2009 - 19:31
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/76565
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea, U.S. to stick to pressure on N. Korea despite thaw: envoys
SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Yonhap) -- The top South Korean and U.S. envoys to stalled
multinational talks on North Korean denuclearization said Saturday their
governments will maintain pressure on the communist state despite a looming thaw
on the Korean Peninsula.
"We have reaffirmed that there is no change in the stance of the South Korean and
U.S. governments in dealing with the North Korean nuclear weapons programs," Wi
Sung-lac, the South Korean envoy to the six-nation talks, told reporters.
Stephen Bosworth, who would represent the U.S. in the talks that also include
Russia, Japan, China and North Korea, agreed. The two were coming out of a
meeting at a Seoul hotel.
The aid-for-disarmament talks remain stalled as North Korea continues to shun
them after a dispute with the U.S. over ways to verify its nuclear weapons
programs last year. The country has since launched a long-range rocket that could
potentially be used to carry a nuclear warhead and conducted a second nuclear
test.
The actions prompted worldwide condemnation and led to the toughening of
sanctions that had been imposed on Pyongyang since it tested an atomic device for
the first time in 2006.
North Korea protested the sanctions by threatening armed retaliation, but in
recent weeks it has taken conciliatory steps that included the Aug. 5 release of
two American journalists that had been detained since March.
On Thursday, a high-ranking North Korean delegation arrived in Seoul to pay
respects to former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who passed away earlier
in the week. The six delegates, who were reportedly carrying a personal message
from North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, were to meet with South Korean President
Lee Myung-bak on Sunday, according to Seoul officials.
Relations between the Koreas, which peaked in summit meetings in 2000 and 2007,
deteriorated after Lee, a conservative, took office on a platform that included a
tougher stance on the North.
Lee, who took office in February last year, has vowed to tie aid to the
impoverished communist neighbor to progress in its denuclearization efforts.
North Korea has vehemently denounced Lee, accusing him of trying to undermine its
regime.
South and North Korea remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War
ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
multinational talks on North Korean denuclearization said Saturday their
governments will maintain pressure on the communist state despite a looming thaw
on the Korean Peninsula.
"We have reaffirmed that there is no change in the stance of the South Korean and
U.S. governments in dealing with the North Korean nuclear weapons programs," Wi
Sung-lac, the South Korean envoy to the six-nation talks, told reporters.
Stephen Bosworth, who would represent the U.S. in the talks that also include
Russia, Japan, China and North Korea, agreed. The two were coming out of a
meeting at a Seoul hotel.
The aid-for-disarmament talks remain stalled as North Korea continues to shun
them after a dispute with the U.S. over ways to verify its nuclear weapons
programs last year. The country has since launched a long-range rocket that could
potentially be used to carry a nuclear warhead and conducted a second nuclear
test.
The actions prompted worldwide condemnation and led to the toughening of
sanctions that had been imposed on Pyongyang since it tested an atomic device for
the first time in 2006.
North Korea protested the sanctions by threatening armed retaliation, but in
recent weeks it has taken conciliatory steps that included the Aug. 5 release of
two American journalists that had been detained since March.
On Thursday, a high-ranking North Korean delegation arrived in Seoul to pay
respects to former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who passed away earlier
in the week. The six delegates, who were reportedly carrying a personal message
from North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, were to meet with South Korean President
Lee Myung-bak on Sunday, according to Seoul officials.
Relations between the Koreas, which peaked in summit meetings in 2000 and 2007,
deteriorated after Lee, a conservative, took office on a platform that included a
tougher stance on the North.
Lee, who took office in February last year, has vowed to tie aid to the
impoverished communist neighbor to progress in its denuclearization efforts.
North Korea has vehemently denounced Lee, accusing him of trying to undermine its
regime.
South and North Korea remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War
ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
