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South Korea's Nuclear Negotiator to Visit China Amid Stalemate

Posted on: Wednesday, 8 March 2006, 06:00 CST

Excerpt from report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap

Seoul, 8 March: South Korea's top negotiator to international talks over North Korea's nuclear programme is to visit China this week for discussions on ways to resume the stalled negotiations, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday [8 March]. Deputy Foreign Minister Chun Young-woo is to visit Beijing from Thursday through Saturday for talks with Wu Dawei, his Chinese counterpart in the nuclear talks, the ministry said in a statement. The visit follows Chun's meeting here last week with his US counterpart Christopher Hill, who was on way his home after a trip to Indonesia.

This will be the first time for the South Korean delegate to the nuclear negotiations to meet his opposite number in China since he was appointed last month. The ministry said Chun's visit is mainly aimed at getting better acquainted with the Chinese envoy, but said it will also include "discussions between the South Korean and Chinese chief delegates to the six-way talks" on ways to resume the stalled negotiations. [passage omitted]

The nuclear talks have been stalled since November due to a North Korean boycott, with the regime citing US sanctions on a Macau bank that is suspected of circulating counterfeit US banknotes printed in the North.

"The chief delegates from the two countries will try to evaluate the current situations surrounding the nuclear talks and exchange their opinions on ways to resume the six-party talks, as well as ways to implement the September 19 joint statement when the talks resume," the ministry said. [passage omitted]

Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

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