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Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Monday that he believed the reconvening of the six-party talks was fast approaching. Appearing on KBS radio, Chung said delaying the talks would not improve North Korea's situation and could, in fact, make the situation worse, because he could not assure that the patience of the international community would last forever.
A government official said a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party figure would visit Pyongyang in late February to discuss with North Korea the reconvening of the six-party talks. Accordingly, the fourth round of talks could open in March, he said.
Meanwhile, about North Korea's request for 500,000 tons of fertilizer, Chung said Seoul was taking a number of things into consideration and carefully reviewing the aid request. He said that should the South-North Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee and other talks between the authorities of the two Koreas restart, North Korea's fertilizer request would be the first issue dealt with.
(Kwon Kyeong-bok, kkb@chosun.com )
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