Seoul to fine-tune 'grand bargain' plan through consultations: minister

By Tony Chang
SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Yonhap) -- Seoul will fine-tune details of President Lee
Myung-bak's "grand bargain" for tackling the North Korean nuclear stalemate based
on a consensus among parties involved in denuclearization talks, the foreign
minister said Monday.

"The government will specify this (grand bargain) plan based on a broad sense of
common understanding between the five parties," Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan
told lawmakers during a parliamentary audit at the National Assembly.
In a speech in New York last month, President Lee proposed replacing the strategy
of a phased denuclearization of North Korea with a single-step process by
exchanging a package of incentives in return for Pyongyang's giving up the "key
elements" of its nuclear program.
Seoul has since initiated consultations with the other members of the six-nation
denuclearization talks -- the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan -- over the
proposal.
"The government will do its best to realize the complete denuclearization (of
North Korea) through the six-party talks under the principle that the North's
nuclear development will not be tolerated," the minister said.
Regarding pending bilateral talks between Washington and Pyongyang, Yu
underscored that the two-way negotiation is aimed at bringing the North back to
the six-party framework.
"(We) will seek to consult with related parties to resume the process of
denuclearization by bringing the North back to the six-party talks."
North Korea has been insisting on one-on-one talks with the U.S. Washington,
which had demanded the North first return to the six-party talks, is now
considering direct dialogue to push negotiations forward.
A final decision on whether to hold the bilateral talks will likely be determined
after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao wraps up his Pyongyang visit on Tuesday.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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