N. Korea to hold peace talks with U.S., China, demurs on S. Korea
Jan. 12, 2010
North Korea said Tuesday it will hold talks with the United States and China for replacing the Korean War armistice agreement with a peace treaty, but showed reservations about holding such talks with South Korea.
Citing South Korea's opposition to the signing of an armistice agreement in 1953, North Korean Ambassador to China Choe Jin Su said, ''Now we don't know whether South Korea would object to this sign of a peace treaty'' as they had in the past.
Choe called for the lifting of U.N. Security Council sanctions against the country, saying the six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions will resume ''at once'' if sanctions are removed.
''If sanctions are lifted, the six-party talks can be held at once. I would like to stress that it (the talks) can be resumed at once when the sanctions (are) lifted,'' Choe said in a group interview in Beijing.
He did not respond to a question about the possibility that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il may visit China in the near future.
Choe made the comments a day after the North Korean Foreign Ministry proposed an ''early start'' of talks this year with countries involved in the 1950-1953 war to replace the armistice that ended the conflict with a peace treaty.
North Korea, China and the United States are signatories to the armistice agreement. Because the statement does not specifically refer to relevant parties, it was not immediately clear if the proposed talks would also involve South Korea.
The proposed peace talks could be held within the framework of the six-party denuclearization talks if sanctions on Pyongyang were lifted, the ministry said in a statement.
''The negotiations for a peace treaty can be held either within the framework of the six-party talks or in parallel,'' Choe said, repeating the line stated in the statement.
''The best is for the DPRK and the United States to sit together for talks at first,'' he said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The conclusion of a peace treaty will help terminate what the North regards as hostile ties between it and the United States and ''positively promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula at a rapid tempo,'' Choe said.
''Here I would like to stress 'at a rapid tempo,''' he said.
North Korea declared its withdrawal from the six-way talks involving North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States in April last year to protest a Security Council condemnation of a rocket launch it conducted the same month.
The launch was widely seen as a long-range missile test.
North Korea added to the tension by conducting a second nuclear test in May. The moves resulted in increased U.N. sanctions on the country.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on Jan. 12, 2009)
Citing South Korea's opposition to the signing of an armistice agreement in 1953, North Korean Ambassador to China Choe Jin Su said, ''Now we don't know whether South Korea would object to this sign of a peace treaty'' as they had in the past.
Choe called for the lifting of U.N. Security Council sanctions against the country, saying the six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions will resume ''at once'' if sanctions are removed.
''If sanctions are lifted, the six-party talks can be held at once. I would like to stress that it (the talks) can be resumed at once when the sanctions (are) lifted,'' Choe said in a group interview in Beijing.
He did not respond to a question about the possibility that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il may visit China in the near future.
Choe made the comments a day after the North Korean Foreign Ministry proposed an ''early start'' of talks this year with countries involved in the 1950-1953 war to replace the armistice that ended the conflict with a peace treaty.
North Korea, China and the United States are signatories to the armistice agreement. Because the statement does not specifically refer to relevant parties, it was not immediately clear if the proposed talks would also involve South Korea.
The proposed peace talks could be held within the framework of the six-party denuclearization talks if sanctions on Pyongyang were lifted, the ministry said in a statement.
''The negotiations for a peace treaty can be held either within the framework of the six-party talks or in parallel,'' Choe said, repeating the line stated in the statement.
''The best is for the DPRK and the United States to sit together for talks at first,'' he said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The conclusion of a peace treaty will help terminate what the North regards as hostile ties between it and the United States and ''positively promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula at a rapid tempo,'' Choe said.
''Here I would like to stress 'at a rapid tempo,''' he said.
North Korea declared its withdrawal from the six-way talks involving North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States in April last year to protest a Security Council condemnation of a rocket launch it conducted the same month.
The launch was widely seen as a long-range missile test.
North Korea added to the tension by conducting a second nuclear test in May. The moves resulted in increased U.N. sanctions on the country.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on Jan. 12, 2009)
