Seoul's point man on North Korea on Thursday said South Korea is not considering calling off its scheduled dialogue with the communist North despite the North's firing of a number of missiles a day before, a move declared a "provocation" by Washington and Tokyo.
Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok said suspending the country's dialogue with the North may further complicate, if not destroy, international negotiations over the communist state's nuclear weapons program.
"It is the common position of the countries involved in the six-party (nuclear) talks to urge North Korea to return to the talks," he told the National Assembly committee on unification, foreign affairs and trade.
So, he said the government wonders "what it would mean if we refuse to talk" with the North.
The remarks came one day after the Stalinist North launched at least seven long and mid-range missiles, including a Taepodong-2, which at full capacity is believed could have a maximum range of 6,000 kilometers, enough to reach the U.S. west coast.
The South Korean minister is set to hold four-day talks with his North Korean counterpart Kwon Ho-ung, chief councilor of the North's Cabinet, in the southern South Korean port city of Busan from Tuesday.
The decision apparently comes as the inter-Korean dialogue is of very few direct channels South Korea has for talks with the world's most reclusive state.
Pyongyang is currently staying away from the six party talks on ending the nuclear dispute peacefully, and threatens to boycott the talks until Washington lifts what it claims to be U.S. sanctions against it.
Wu Dawei, China's top negotiator to the nuclear talks, recently proposed an unofficial meeting of negotiators from the six countries involved in the nuclear negotiations, including the United States, Japan, Russia and the two Koreas.
The North has yet to give a positive response, despite repeated calls from its dialogue partners to resume the talks that have stalled since a November round.
The nuclear dispute erupted in October 2002 when Washington accused Pyongyang of running a secret nuclear arms program.
Seoul, July 6 (Yonhap News)
Inter-Korean talks to go on as scheduled despite missile tests: minister |
