N Korea agrees to fresh nuke talks

SEOUL – North Korea yesterday agreed to attend talks in Beijing next month aimed at setting up a fresh round of six-nation negotiations on its nuclear weapons drive, but warned of a “hurdle” ahead.

Confirming the working group meeting to open on May 12 in the Chinese capital, the North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said Pyongyang wanted to discuss compensation for freezing its nuclear programs. “The DPRK (North Korean) side will attend this meeting to discuss the proposal ‘reward for freeze’ under any circumstances,” he told the official Korean Central News Agency.But he warned Washington’s demand for complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantling (CVID) of North Korea’s nuclear programs might overshadow prospects for the talks.”The US seems to stick to its stand to demand Pyongyang’s CVID of its nuclear program.But that will only throw a higher hurdle in the way of the talks,” he warned.China and South Korea also confirmed the meeting of lower-level working officials in Beijing from May 12.The meeting is open-ended.A row over North Korea’s nuclear program has been deadlocked since October 2002, when Washington said the Stalinist state had broken a 1994 nuclear freeze by launching a secret weapons drive.Two rounds of six-party talks – bringing together the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia – have failed to narrow differences over the US demand and Pyongyang’s denial that it was running an enriched-uranium program.A new round of talks is expected before the end of June.Working parties are to be set up to resolve contentious issues.Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-Hyuck, South Korea’s chief delegate to the six-way talks, described the forthcoming working-group talks as a “preparatory meeting” to help the six-nation negotiations go smoothly.The date for the working group meeting was fixed after a visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il to China last week.China praised Kim for helping facilitate the meeting by expressing “willingness to participate in the six-party talks and achieve the final goal of the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula” during his visit.- Nampa-AFP”The DPRK (North Korean) side will attend this meeting to discuss the proposal ‘reward for freeze’ under any circumstances,” he told the official Korean Central News Agency.But he warned Washington’s demand for complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantling (CVID) of North Korea’s nuclear programs might overshadow prospects for the talks.”The US seems to stick to its stand to demand Pyongyang’s CVID of its nuclear program.But that will only throw a higher hurdle in the way of the talks,” he warned.China and South Korea also confirmed the meeting of lower-level working officials in Beijing from May 12.The meeting is open-ended.A row over North Korea’s nuclear program has been deadlocked since October 2002, when Washington said the Stalinist state had broken a 1994 nuclear freeze by launching a secret weapons drive.Two rounds of six-party talks – bringing together the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia – have failed to narrow differences over the US demand and Pyongyang’s denial that it was running an enriched-uranium program.A new round of talks is expected before the end of June.Working parties are to be set up to resolve contentious issues.Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-Hyuck, South Korea’s chief delegate to the six-way talks, described the forthcoming working-group talks as a “preparatory meeting” to help the six-nation negotiations go smoothly.The date for the working group meeting was fixed after a visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il to China last week.China praised Kim for helping facilitate the meeting by expressing “willingness to participate in the six-party talks and achieve the final goal of the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula” during his visit.- Nampa-AFP