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| Wi Sung-lac, right, South Korea's nuclear envoy, talks with Ri Yong-ho, North Korea's vice foreign minister who handles nuclear diplomacy, during their meeting at a hotel in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Friday. The nuclear envoys of South and North Korea met on the sidelines of an Asian forum in Bali on Friday, an official in Seoul said, in the first high-level contact since tensions spiked on the Korean peninsula last year. (Reuters Photo) |
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Nuclearenvoys from North and South Korea held rare talks on Friday in the Indonesianisland of Bali amid international efforts to revive stalled six-nationnegotiations on the North’s atomic weaponry.
The meetingbetween South Korea’s Wi Sung-lac and his counterpart Ri Yong-ho was thefirst-ever North-South meeting on nuclear issues outside the six-party format,a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
The Northhas previously refused to discuss its nuclear program with the South alone,saying it is intended as a deterrent against the United States.
Six-partyhost China had been pushing for an inter-Korean nuclear meeting, followed byUS-North Korean talks, to pave the way for a resumption of the full dialogue.
Friday’smeeting came after more than a year of high tensions on the Korean peninsula,after Seoul accused its neighbor of two border attacks which killed 50 peoplein 2010.
Dependingon the outcome of Friday’s talks, the South’s Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwancould meet his North Korean counterpart Pak Ui-chun, probably on Saturday, thespokeswoman said.
The lastround of six-party talks ended without agreement in December 2008. The Northformally abandoned them in April 2009 and staged its second nuclear test amonth later.
It hasexpressed conditional willingness to return to the forum, which groups China,the two Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia.
But theUnited States, its ally South Korea and Japan say the North should first mendrelations with its neighbor.
Seoulaccuses Pyongyang of torpedoing a South Korean warship in March 2010 with theloss of 46 lives.
The Northdenies involvement. But it killed four people in a bombardment of a SouthKorean island last November, briefly sparking fears of war.
The Southhad demanded the North take responsibility for those attacks before any majordialogue. But in an attempt to break the diplomatic impasse, it said thiscondition would not apply to nuclear negotiations.
“It’s beena long time since I met you in London,” Wi told Ri as they started the talks onthe sidelines of an Asian security conference, Yonhap news agency reported.
He wasrecalling their meeting at a security conference in Britain six years ago.“Yes, how nice to see you again,” Ri responded.
All sixcountries are attending the Asean Regional Forum this week.
DespiteFriday’s meeting, the nominee for next US ambassador to South Korea voiceddoubt on Thursday that the North was ready to return to serious negotiations.
“We’re notconvinced that they really are ready to return to serious diplomacy andnegotiations,” Sung Kim, who is now the special envoy to the moribundsix-nation talks, told a Senate hearing on his nomination.
“This iswhy I think Seoul and Washington have both been very cautious in just rushingback to the negotiating table.
“In lightof what has happened in the past two years, I think the North Koreans need toprove that they will in fact be a serious partner when the negotiationsresume,” Sung Kim added.
Agence France-Presse
