|
Regarding the fourth round of the six-way talks on the North Korean nuclear issue currently underway in Beijing, North Korean Foreign Ministry official Chung Song-il told the Chosun Ilbo on Friday that the talks were proceeding well in a very business-like manner. Chung, the director of the North Korean Foreign Ministry's international institutions bureau, is known as a rising player in North Korean diplomacy.
Chung is accompanying North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun to the annual ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) held in Laos. He also said bilateral talks between Washington and Pyongyang on the sidelines of the six-party talks were discussing substantial issues and the two sides would meet more frequently.
Chung said that by a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, the North means the withdrawal of nuclear weapons from both North and South Korea and a ban on importing nuclear weapons or materials into either country. Liquidating the hostile relationship between Washington and Pyongyang was a precondition to denuclearizing the peninsula, he added.
According to Chung, the definition of denuclearization is that peace and coexistence between the United States and the North are legally and systematically established and the nuclear crisis in and around the Korean Peninsula brought to a conclusion. His remarks are interpreted as indicating the North¡¯s intention not to dismantle its nuclear weapons before its relations with the United States normalize and to block the movement of nuclear-propelled U.S. aircraft carriers to the Korean Peninsula.
Another North Korean Foreign Ministry official said that Minister Paek was being briefed about the progress of the six-party talks from North Korean negotiators in Beijing. ¡°The atmosphere of the meeting is very good. I was told that the United States has prepared a joint statement to deal with the pending issues of both sides,¡± the official said. ¡°U.S. negotiators used to deny and turn a deaf ear to our demands. But this time, they appear to be trying to listen to and understand our position,¡± he said.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
