S. Korea skeptical of N. Korean proposal for peace treaty

SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is thoroughly reviewing North Korea's
proposal for talks on replacing the Korean armistice with a peace agreement to
ascertain Pyongyang's true intentions, wary of the possibility that the North may
be trying to undermine negotiations on ending its nuclear ambitions, an official
said Monday.
"We cannot say it is all good news because what they proposed is somewhat
different from our position on such talks," an official at South Korea's foreign
ministry said.
The remarks came hours after North Korea proposed that such talks be held either
within the six-party framework on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions or in a
separate forum.
North Korea agreed in a six-party accord signed in 2005 to hold separate talks
with those directly involved in the 1950-53 Korean War -- South Korea, the U.S.
and China -- to replace the ceasefire with a permanent peace agreement.
Seoul's foreign minister Yu Myung-hwan noted in a recent interview with Yonhap
News Agency that Pyongyang may try to bring the issue into the six-party dialogue
in an attempt to delay the negotiations on ending its nuclear ambitions.
"We have to consider the proposal in greater depth before deciding on how to
perceive it, but the format for talks on a peace treaty that was agreed to by the
six parties of the nuclear negotiations was for a forum separate from the
six-party talks," the ministry official said, asking not to be identified.
The official noted that North Korea may have mentioned holding the peace talks in
a separate forum so as to avoid criticism from other participants of the
six-party talks for trying to breach previous agreements, if not to manipulate
the nuclear negotiations themselves.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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