Spring Break
North, South Korea resume high-level talks after nuclear breakthrough
The Associated Press
Issue date: 2/28/07 Section: News
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North and South Korea held high-level reconciliation talks Tuesday for the first time since the communist nation's nuclear test in October, paving the way for a resumption of aid to the impoverished country.
The meetings came as North Korea showed strong signs of commitment to its Feb. 13 pledge at international arms talks to shut down its main nuclear reactor within 60 days in exchange for energy aid.
It has already invited the chief U.N. nuclear inspector to visit to discuss verification of a shutdown.
North Korea's main nuclear negotiator, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, headed for the United States for talks on following through on the landmark deal on dismantling its nuclear weapons program. Kim stopped over in Beijing en route to the U.S., the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
South Korea plans to focus this week's Cabinet-level talks in the capital of Pyongyang on winning a firmer North Korean commitment to carry out the nuclear deal and on measures aimed at bringing permanent peace to the divided peninsula.
The chief South Korean delegate, Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung, praised the nuclear deal at an informal meeting with his North Korean counterpart, Senior Cabinet Councilor Kwon Ho Ung.
"A good agreement was reached ... based on the principle of equality and balance," Lee told Kwon during a 15-minute chat at his hotel, according to pool reports. Kwon did not respond, the reports said.
Lee later told a welcoming dinner hosted by North Korean Prime Minister Pak Pong Ju that the neighbors should get reconciliation projects back on track now that the "skein of thread that gave us a hard time last year" is being unwound, referring to the nuclear standoff.
Pak made no mention of the nuclear issue in his speech, stressing only that the two sides should put the interests of Korean people ahead of anything else _ a repeat of routine North Korean rhetoric.
In Seoul, President Roh Moo-hyun said it was important to show North Korea that it would get more for abandoning its nuclear weapons than keeping them.
The meetings came as North Korea showed strong signs of commitment to its Feb. 13 pledge at international arms talks to shut down its main nuclear reactor within 60 days in exchange for energy aid.
It has already invited the chief U.N. nuclear inspector to visit to discuss verification of a shutdown.
North Korea's main nuclear negotiator, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, headed for the United States for talks on following through on the landmark deal on dismantling its nuclear weapons program. Kim stopped over in Beijing en route to the U.S., the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
South Korea plans to focus this week's Cabinet-level talks in the capital of Pyongyang on winning a firmer North Korean commitment to carry out the nuclear deal and on measures aimed at bringing permanent peace to the divided peninsula.
The chief South Korean delegate, Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung, praised the nuclear deal at an informal meeting with his North Korean counterpart, Senior Cabinet Councilor Kwon Ho Ung.
"A good agreement was reached ... based on the principle of equality and balance," Lee told Kwon during a 15-minute chat at his hotel, according to pool reports. Kwon did not respond, the reports said.
Lee later told a welcoming dinner hosted by North Korean Prime Minister Pak Pong Ju that the neighbors should get reconciliation projects back on track now that the "skein of thread that gave us a hard time last year" is being unwound, referring to the nuclear standoff.
Pak made no mention of the nuclear issue in his speech, stressing only that the two sides should put the interests of Korean people ahead of anything else _ a repeat of routine North Korean rhetoric.
In Seoul, President Roh Moo-hyun said it was important to show North Korea that it would get more for abandoning its nuclear weapons than keeping them.
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