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The chief presidential security secretary Song Min-soon said Thursday the U.S. and North Korea ¡°will have no choice¡± but to hold bilateral talks when six-party negotiations on the North¡¯s nuclear program reconvene. Speaking on KBS radio, Song predicted delegates from the U.S. will visit North Korea and vice versa since there is no other realistic option for the two to sort out their differences. "The U.S. and North Korea need to discuss the issues of the missile or other terrorism-related problems in the process of normalizing their relationship¡± within the framework of the six-way talks, he said.
A high-ranking government official said efforts are underway to restart the six-party talks, which the North has been boycotting over U.S. financial sanctions since November. He said there was mediation going on to assure prompt bilateral talks between the U.S. and North Korea in the event that the hermit nation returns to the table. Turning to Pyongyang¡¯s reportedly imminent missile launch, the official said it had yet to be called off, and there still remained the possibility of a launch. But he said the international ¡°diplomatic situation¡± on the matter makes it highly unlikely the North will go ahead.
"Some countries have looked at the whole thing as being for show, and from the beginning there was a strong case for thinking it was politically motivated," the official said. "If North Korea does launch a missile, it¡¯s unlikely the South Korean people would support continued economic aid to North Korea, and the international community would also have a difficult time supporting the country."
Asked about the government¡¯s alleged idleness over South Koreans abducted by North Korea during the 1970s and 80s in the wake of the reunion of one of them, Kim Young-nam, with his mother on Wednesday, the official indicated Seoul will do more in future. "If there were mistakes made in the past, we must show them what must be done from now on,¡± he said.
Song will be in Washington on July 4-6 to meet U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and other high-level State Department officials to discuss the North Korean missile and nuclear program as well as the Korea-U.S. alliance.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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