01/08/2003
North Korea agrees to 'six-way talks' over nuclear row
North Korea has agreed to hold talks with South Korea in an attempt to assuage growing fears that its nuclear power pretensions will destabilise the region.
The talks, also to be attended by the US, Japan, Russia and China, will most likely take place in Beijing. More consultation between the six parties is needed before a date can be set for the talks, the South Korean government revealed today.
The news of the breakthrough was first released by the Russian government yesterday afternoon. A government release said that Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov had received ambassador of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Pak Ui Chun, "at his request".
The statement read: "Upon instruction from his leadership, the ambassador said the DPRK supports the holding of the six-parties talks with Russia's participation on settling the current complex situation on the Korean Peninsula and is taking active steps to carry them out."
The Russian's expressed their "satisfaction over Pyongyang's constructive decision".
"[We] stressed the need for a political settlement of existing problems via negotiations on the basis of securing a nuclear-free status of the Korean Peninsula and the security of the states located there," the statement read.
Previously, North Korea had been insisting on one-to-one talks with the US, but there had been little movement from Washington on the issue.
(GMcG)
The talks, also to be attended by the US, Japan, Russia and China, will most likely take place in Beijing. More consultation between the six parties is needed before a date can be set for the talks, the South Korean government revealed today.
The news of the breakthrough was first released by the Russian government yesterday afternoon. A government release said that Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov had received ambassador of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Pak Ui Chun, "at his request".
The statement read: "Upon instruction from his leadership, the ambassador said the DPRK supports the holding of the six-parties talks with Russia's participation on settling the current complex situation on the Korean Peninsula and is taking active steps to carry them out."
The Russian's expressed their "satisfaction over Pyongyang's constructive decision".
"[We] stressed the need for a political settlement of existing problems via negotiations on the basis of securing a nuclear-free status of the Korean Peninsula and the security of the states located there," the statement read.
Previously, North Korea had been insisting on one-to-one talks with the US, but there had been little movement from Washington on the issue.
(GMcG)
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