North Korea to return to nuclear talks
Pyongyang (AsiaNews) North Korea says it has agreed to return to six-party talks because "it is the ultimate goal of the DPRK to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula", North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported July 9.
For the agency, the decision to rejoin the talks stems from the fact that the US "clarified that it would recognize the DPRK as a sovereign state, not [. . .] invade it."
Talks will resume on July 25, and according some sources, the official statement about North Korea's decision to rejoin talks came during a secret meeting in Beijing on Saturday, between US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan
"The resumption of the talks itself is important but the most essential thing is for the talks to have an in-depth discussion on ways of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula," a spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Ministry said. "The DPRK will do its utmost for it," he added.
Many analysts believe that North Korea appears to want to prove it has genuine motives for returning to the nuclear talks.
The South Korean government expressed hope for substantial progress at the envisioned six-party talks, welcoming the decision by Kim Jong-il's regime to return to the nuclear dialogue as the "fruits of the efforts" of all countries involved.
"It is necessary for all participants to achieve substantial progress through sincere and active negotiations," Song Min-soon, South Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister and main nuclear negotiator, said.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reacted to the news by saying that the resumption of the six-nation talks was "only a start."
Currently in China, Ms Rice is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Tuesday for further consultations on the resumption of talks.
Meantime, South Korea's Red Cross official said it will offer humanitarian aid by sending emergency supplies to North Korea this week to help victims of flash flooding that claimed 88 lives and left thousands homeless late last month.
"The relief supplies will be enough for about 3,000 families and mostly focus on clothes and daily necessities," a Red Cross official said.
.png)
