SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il said on Friday the communist country was willing to return to nuclear disarmament talks in July if the United States "recognises and respects" his country. North Korea "could rejoin six-party talks as early as July if the US recognizes and respects the country as a (dialogue) partner," Kim was quoted as saying by South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-Young.
Respect? Heh. Guess we won't be talking. | Kim, however, said his country needs "further consultations with the United States," Chung said after returning from talks with the North Korean leader in Pyongyang. Chung quoted Kim as denying North Korea had ever said it would abandon the six-party disarmament forum, which has been stalled for a year. The North Korean leader also reaffirmed that an inter-Korean agreement on denuclearising the Korean peninsula was "still valid," calling it "last will" of his father, Kim Il-Sung, who founded the communist country and died in 1994, Chung said.
The South Korean minister said he had "in-depth" discussions with Kim on politics, economy and humanitarian aid. He also delivered a verbal message from South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun on the disarmament talks and North Korea's nuclear weapons drive. South Korean officials said earlier that they would make the best use of Chung's visit to Pyongyang to urge the Stalinist country to return to six-party talks. |