The next round of six-way talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons program should be held before Feb. 10, South Korea's foreign minister said Friday.
Speaking to reporters in Beijing, Song Min-soon also said Seoul wants the next meeting to lead to a real action plan to get Pyongyang to end its nuclear ambitions.
The two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia are the participants in the talks.
The minister did not elaborate about the date, but it may be aimed at avoiding Lunar New Year's Day that falls on February 18 this year. South Korea and China celebrate the holiday.
On the overall progress made so far, the policymaker said all sides are "changing" to reach some sort of understanding on the standoff.
"Every side is making adjustments since it is inconceivable that only one party will give ground," the official said. The remark may allude to talks last week between the United States and North Korea in Berlin. Both sides said some progress was made, but did not go into details.
Seoul's top diplomat also said his talks with Chinese officials have allowed both sides to work together on the North Korean refugee issue.
"During the latest foreign ministers' talks the two sides reached an implicit understanding on the matter," he said. In October, family members of South Korean soldiers captured by North Korea during the Korean War (1950-53), who escaped to China recently were caught by the authorities and sent back to the North.
There have been reports that at least one may have died afterwards.
Seoul said Beijing should not send North Korean refugees back to their country, where they may face persecution.
Song, who arrived in Beijing on Thursday, met with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and Wang Jiarui, head of the Chinese Communist Party's international liaison office, earlier in the day.
Beijing, Jan. 26 (Yonhap News)
Six-way talks should be held before Feb. 10: foreign minister |
