U.S. says ready to settle N.Korea nuclear issue
By Kieran MurraySEOUL (Reuters) - The United States is ready to seek a negotiated settlement at multilateral talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons programmes, the top U.S. negotiator to the discussions said on Monday.
The talks went into a recess on Aug. 7 after the six countries involved failed to reach agreement even on a statement of principles during 13 days of discussions in Beijing.
That fourth round of negotiations between the United States, the two Koreas, Japan, Russia and host China will resume on Wednesday after a five-week recess for the delegates to consult with their capitals.
"We've used the one month very productively in Washington, we're ready to sit down and negotiate and try to finish this thing," said Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of state for Asia and Pacific affairs.
"But the question is what the DPRK has done in that one month," added Hill, who was speaking ahead of a meeting with South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young. The North's official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Separately, Hill is also due to meet his South Korean counterpart to the talks, Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon.
There have been signs of some policy divisions, particularly after Chung said North Korea has a right to a peaceful nuclear programme -- a key sticking point in the six-party talks.
U.S. officials have expressed concern about the North having any sort of nuclear programme, saying the country could use a civilian programme to develop weapons.
Hill, who will head to Bejing on Tuesday for the talks, said last week that North Korea, which is battling energy shortages, should seriously consider a sweetener from South Korea to supply it with electricity about equal to its own output after it dismantles its nuclear weapons programmes.
Chung will head to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, on Tuesday for ministerial-level talks on issues such as confidence-building measures between the North and South Korean armies. The two Koreas are technically still at war because the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in a truce and not a peace treaty.
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
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