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Push for nuke talks at forum: SKorean FM
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) Jul 25, 2006 South Korea said Tuesday discussions were under way to bring the foreign ministers of six nations involved in talks on the North's nuclear aims together on the sidelines of a regional meeting. South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon, who arrived in Kuala Lumpur to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum, said however that North Korea's participation still hung in the balance. "There have been discussions ... that it is necessary for the foreign ministers of the six parties to discuss the early resumption of the six-party talks," Ban told journalists. "But I am not certain that North Korea's foreign minister is interested in the process." North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-Sun is due to arrive in the Malaysian capital on Thursday to attend the region's top security talks. Ban has expressed hopes that he will have a bilateral meeting with Paek during the fourm, but schedules have yet to fixed. "I would stress that North Korea's return to six-way talks is crucial to settling the issue of missile tests," he said. "I have proposed the meeting to my North Korean counterpart, but I have not yet had confirmation from him." North Korea has boycotted the three-year-old nuclear disarmament talks with the United States, China, South Korea, Russia and Japan since November in protest at US financial sanctions. Tensions rose after Pyongyang's July 5 test-firing of seven ballistic missiles in defiance of international appeals. UN condemnation and sanctions followed. Asked if South Korea would try to broker a US-North Korea foreign ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the forum, Ban said: "The United States has its own position, so we have to wait and see." Ban is scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice here on Friday. The United States has rejected a North Korean offer to have bilateral negotiations before reviving the six-way talks. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links
Push for nuclear talks as NKorea slams 'imbecile' Rice
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) Jul 25, 2006 South Korea said Tuesday efforts are under way to hold six-nation talks on the North's nuclear ambitions, at an Asian security forum where the issue promises to dominate the agenda. |
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