| Submit your comments on this article |
| China-Japan-Koreas |
| China unhappy with S. Korea's push to take N. Korea's uranium program to U.N. |
| 2011-02-12 |
| BEIJING/SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Yonhap) -- China expressed concern about North Korea's uranium enrichment program (UEP), but insisted the issue should be dealt with at six-party nuclear talks, South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator said Friday. "China does not agree with taking the issue to the U.N. Security Council," Wi Sung-lac told reporters after returning home from a two-day trip to Beijing for a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei. China's stance runs counter to South Korea's position that the U.N. Security Council should first take up the matter because the uranium program represents a violation of U.N. resolutions and Pyongyang's own 2005 commitment to forsake its nuclear ambitions. Wi's visit came after China expressed "concern" about the North's uranium program for the first time in last month's summit with the United States. That had raised hope that Beijing could change its position and back Seoul's efforts to bring the issue to the Security Council. "South Korea and China expressed concern about North Korea's UEP and agreed to respond to it rightly and continue close consultation," a diplomatic source in Beijing said earlier on condition of anonymity. "Compared with before the U.S.-China summit, China made a lot of mention of concern over the North's UEP." "China's basic view is that everything, including the UEP, should be discussed at six-party talks," the source said. "The two sides conveyed their respective positions to each other sufficiently. Though no agreement was made, I would like to put meaning in that mutual understanding has deepened." "China expressed a position that the six-party talks should be resumed at an early date, but still agreed the talks can be resumed only after relations between the two Koreas are normalized," he said. |
| Posted by:Steve White |