Seoul Calls for Multilateral Talks on NK Nuke
2003-05-30
South Korea joined the U.S. in pressing North Korea to accept multilateral dialogue to discuss the standoff over the North's bid to develop nuclear weapons, Seoul officials said on Thursday (May 29).
“Basically, we advocate the multilateral talks in dealing with the North Korean issue,” said Ban Ki-moon, presidential secretary for foreign affairs, during a meeting of security-related officials at Cheong Wa Dae.
Ban's statement shows that Seoul holds the same position as Washington and Tokyo in regard to the dialogue format on North Korean nuclear issue.
Senior officials from the three nations are set to meet next month during the Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group session to discuss ways of jointly addressing the issue.
U.S. President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi agreed on the need to include South Korea and Japan in future dialogue.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell rejected North Korea's call to have direct talks between Washington and Pyongyang before holding a multilateral dialogue.
Ban backed Powell's statement by saying, “It is natural for the U.S. to come up with such response.”
The U.S. has been pressing for a six-way multilateral format consisting of South Korea, Japan, Russia and China as well as North Korea and the United States.
Another Cheong Wa Dae official said the government is not opposing the idea of including neighboring nations in the future dialogue format.
“We also welcome Russia,” he said.
“We maintain the position that dialogue momentum, which gained impetus due to the tripartite talks in Beijing, will be sustained,” he said.
The Cheong Wa Dae meeting dealt with measures that Seoul needs to take as a follow-up to the summit meeting between Seoul and Washington.
Source : www.korea.net
