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Korean nuclear problem won`t be resolved this year: diplomat

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Moscow, Feb 29, Itar-Tass/ACSNA/IRNA -- "The nuclear issue on the 
Korean Peninsula will not be settled this year because of political 
factors," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov told 
Itar-Tass on Sunday. 
Losyukov, who headed the Russian delegation to the Beijing round, 
is back to Moscow. Russia, North Korea, South Korea, the United 
States, Japan and China are taking part in the negotiations. 
"The U.S. position remains firm, and the North Korean problem will
hardly be solved before the U.S. election," the diplomat said. 
The second round of negotiations on the North Korean nuclear 
problem "has somewhat eased the tension," Losyukov said. "Any 
negotiations help to ease tension," he emphasized. 
"Yet there was no concrete progress in the conflict settlement at 
the negotiations," Losyukov said. "If nothing changes, mistrust on the
Korean Peninsula will deepen, the situation will exacerbate and 
military interference may become possible," he noted. 
"There may be an attempt of blockade or restricted relations 
between North Korea and other countries. All that may aggravate the 
situation a lot." 
"We do not need that because the Korean Peninsula is close to the 
Russian border," the diplomat said. "Russia and China are interested 
in the peace settlement more than others. We must try to continue 
dialog, particularly to promote talks between the United States and 
North Korea," Losyukov said. 
Results of the second round of the six-party negotiations on the 
North Korean problem "are modest, but some progress has been 
achieved," he noted. 
"We could have achieved better results, but there is still some 
progress and an agreement is reached to have the third round in the 
middle of this year," he said. "There are still many problems to 
solve. But the negotiations were positive just the same," he noted. 
Pyongyang "agreed to freeze its nuclear program while settling 
this problem", Losyukov said. "This is a positive move," he 
emphasized. 
"North Korea considered a possibility of getting any compensations
for this, including energy aid . Our delegation and China expressed 
support for North Korea in this issue," he added. 
"The international KEDO consortium is a dead project," the 
diplomat claimed. "The United States will not participate in it, since
it demands North Korea`s refusal, apart from developing nuclear 
weapons, and on the nuclear program in the energy sphere," Losyukov 
explained. He reported that "the Beijing talks did not discuss the 
KEDO". 
"The optimum time for holding the third round of the six-party 
negotiations on the North Korean nuclear problem is the middle of this
year, probably, July," Losyukov said. 
"There were many problems. Some countries suggested gathering 
again in two or three months, and South Korea was the most active in 
that respect," Losyukov said. 
Seoul "proposed to set up a working group and to hold the next 
round in two months. Russia does not think this proposal is realistic.
We suggested holding the next round in six months from the very 
start," he said. 
"The North Korean denial of a uranium enrichment program is 
another problem. They tried to avoid the subject in Beijing," the 
diplomat said. 
/NB/210 
End