Ministers of S.K., China discuss N.K. nuke issue

The foreign ministers of South Korea and China yesterday met amid signs that North Korea may be ready to return to the six-nation talks aimed at ending the regime`s nuclear weapons programs.

"I hope to discuss various issues between our two countries today, including the North Korean nuclear issue," Seoul`s Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan told his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi at the start of their meeting in Beijing.

Yu also called to attention the significance of maintaining and upgrading the two nations` bilateral relations to step up cooperation in regional and international issues, such as the ongoing global economic crisis.

"South Korea will work closely with China in setting the agenda for the G20 summit to be held in Seoul," he said.

Seoul is to host the global financial summit in November this year.

Yu also paid a visit to Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao following the meeting with Yang.

Many expected yesterday`s talks to be focused on giving Pyongyang another push to return to the denuclearization negotiations that have been stalled since the North declared it would boycott the talks in April last year. In May, Pyongyang conducted its second nuclear test.



As chair of the six-way talks, China has been under mounting pressure from its partners in the discussions to draw the North back to the negotiations.

Beijing also is known for its traditionally close ties with North Korea, dating back to when China supported the North`s attempts to overthrow the South Korean regime in the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in an armistice.

Prospects for the resumption of the multilateral talks recently appeared to grow brighter following a series of visits by top Chinese officials including Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and Wang Jiarui, head of international relations of China`s Communist Party to Pyongyang starting in October last year.

In December, the United States sent its chief nuclear envoy Stephen Bosworth to Pyongyang,

But an actual resumption has yet to materialize as the North claims that establishing a permanent peace treaty to replace the Armistice Agreement should be the first priority for the six parties. Pyongyang also is saying that the sanctions levied by the United Nations after its second nuclear test must be scrapped before it ventures to the talks at all.

Yu arrived in Beijing on Wednesday after a brief stop in Shanghai to check Seoul`s preparations for operating a booth at the World Expo 2010, set to begin May 1.

The foreign minister will leave for Seoul on Friday.

(jemmie@heraldm.com)









By Kim Ji-hyun