In regard to indications that nuclear weapons were not dealt with in the accord reached by the six-party talks on Tuesday, the official responded, “It would not make sense for North Korea to give up nuclear weapons which it has been developing for years for just one million tons of fuel oil.”

The statements marked the first time a high-level official has revealed the government’s position on discussing North Korea's existing nuclear weapons. The South Korean government believes that the North has two to three nuclear bombs right now.

During his keynote speech at the six-party talks held immediately following North Korea's nuclear experiments last December, North Korean nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan blocked any discussion of disarming, saying that if the talks moved in that direction, then there would have to be calls for mutual disarmament.

Meanwhile, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov, who heads the Russian delegation at the six-party talks, said Tuesday that the participating countries had agreed to avert any actions that might derail the situation, and cited joint military training exercises between South Korea and the U.S. as an example.

As the comments were made on ITAR-TASS, a broadcaster managed by the Russian government, it is understood that North Korea asked to stop the joint training sessions at the six-party talks and that some participating countries accepted that request.

The official accord of the six-party talks announced Tuesday only mentions that North Korea and the U.S. will start a conversation to solve pending issues between them and to form diplomatic relations. It does not contain any mention of the joint military training sessions between South Korea and the U.S.

(englishnews@chosun.com )