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SKors, Russia to push for 5-way nuclear meeting without Norks
 MOSCOW, June 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Russia agreed Wednesday to seek concrete steps toward an envisioned five-way meeting with the United States, China and Japan as part of efforts to press North Korea to rejoin long-stalled disarmament talks."The two nations reached a common view to support any format (of consultations), including the five-party one for North Korea's return to the six-way talks (on its nuclear program)," Seoul's top nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac told reporters after meeting here with his Russian counterpart Alexei Borodavkin. The five-way event under consideration would be a temporary tool to show unity among the regional powers and help give momentum to troubled efforts to persuade the defiant North to reengage in the Beijing-based negotiations. In protest of the U.N. Security Council's condemnation of its April 5 long-range rocket launch, Pyongyang said it would never rejoin the six-party talks. It even conducted a second nuclear test, provoking harsher U.N. sanctions. As chances are slim that the North will come back to the talks in the near future, the South Korean president proposed in his summit with U.S. President Barack Obama last week that the five parties hold their own gathering. Borodavkin reiterated Moscow's regret over Pyongyang's decision to shun the bargaining table. "Such a decision should be reconsidered," he said. "Diplomacy should be employed to resolve the problem, and there can be no other way than dialogue. Close cooperation among relevant parties is necessary."
The feasibility of the event appears to depend on China, host of the six-party forum and the North's closest traditional ally. China has neither agreed nor disagreed publicly to the move. "The Chinese government believes the six-party talks are the best way to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a press briefing Tuesday when asked about Beijing's position. China is willing to keep maintain communication and coordination with the involved parties, Qin added, maintaining diplomatic ambiguity. South Korean officials said China remains cautious and has been informed of a rough concept of a five-way meeting. "If related countries present a more concrete plan, including agenda items, China is expected to take a clearer stance on the issue," a foreign ministry official said, requesting anonymity. Posted by: Steve White 2009-06-25 |
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