Seoul rejects N. Korean demand for talks on peace treaty

SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Tuesday dismissed a call by North Korea
for talks on formally ending the Korean War with a peace treaty, saying such
dialogue can only be held after North Korea returns to talks on ending its
nuclear ambition and makes progress in its denuclearization.
"We have expressed our position on a number of occasions that if the six-party
talks are resumed and there is progress in the process of North Korea's
denuclearization, the relevant countries can negotiate a peace treaty in a
separate forum as stated in the Sept. 19 joint declaration," Kim Young-sun, a
spokesman for Seoul's foreign ministry, said in a statement.
The statement came one day after the North's foreign ministry said its return to
the nuclear negotiations, also attended by South Korea, the U.S., Japan, China
and Russia, hinges on the start of talks for a peace agreement that will replace
the 1953 Korean armistice.
Under a six-party accord signed on Sept. 19, 2005, North Korea agreed in
principle to denuclearize in exchange for economic and political concessions from
the international community, including the normalization of ties with the U.S.
The remarks from the South Korean official followed a rejection of the North
Korean demand by the U.S., which also said such dialogue on a peace treaty will
take place only after the North returns to the six-nation nuclear talks and
begins to denuclearize.
"We urge North Korea to immediately return to the six-party talks and begin
taking irreversible denuclearization measures," Kim said.
The ministry spokesman also urged the North to begin seriously considering
Seoul's proposal for a "grand bargain," noting the proposed deal could adequately
address Pyongyang's security concerns.
"The idea of the grand bargain we proposed is to seek a comprehensive solution of
issues, including the elements of the Sept. 19 joint declaration, so we hope the
six-party talks will be resumed for detailed discussions based on the proposed
deal," he said.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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