A government official on Monday said Seoul believed a phased approach was appropriate for the security guarantees North Korea has been demanding. In the first phase Seoul would seek temporary multilateral security guarantees once North Korea announces it is freezing its nuclear facilities and welcoming IAEA inspectors. These would become permanent if Pyongyang then abandons its nuclear program for good.

The government said it already explained the phased regime security deal to North Korea during the previous round of six-party talks that ended last July. The U.S. position is that it can establish diplomatic relations with the North once those stages are achieved.

As for economic aid, the first stage would involve providing urgently needed heavy oil and energy. In the second stage, the South would provide full-scale economic aid. It seems a North Korean aid package mentioned by President Roh Moo-hyun and a mystery proposal Seoul last month put to Pyongyang will go roughly in tandem with these international measures.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who visits South Korea on Tuesday, will discuss joint strategies for the six-party talks. On Wednesday, she is scheduled to pay a courtesy call to President Roh Moo-hyun and hold a press conference.

Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, the head of the South Korean delegation to the six-party talks, called Chinese ambassador to Korea Li Bin on Monday to discuss bilateral cooperation when the talks resume after July 25. Talks between the heads of the Korean, U.S. and Japanese delegations will also convene shortly.

The government held a strategy meeting to discuss the six-party talks on Monday, and a National Security Council meeting chaired by the president is scheduled for Tuesday.

(englishnews@chosun.com )