Close consultations under way on nuclear issue: S. Korean FM
20/10/2005 17:30
Close consultations among concerning parties over the implementation of a
joint statement adopted by the fourth round six-party nuclear talks are under
way, said South Korean foreign minister Thursday.
Ban Ki-moon made the
remarks at a press conference held at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club in
central Seoul earlier Thursday.
Ban introduced the South Korean chief nuclear
negotiator and Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon's recent US visit on Oct.
15- 19 to reporters of foreign media.
Ban said Song met with his US Assistant
Secretary Christopher Hill, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns
and other senior officials to discuss how to implement the joint statement and
make progress at the next round of the talks.
"Both of the two sides agreed
to continue reviewing and consulting ways to implement the joint statement and
to substantiate the consultations for the holding of the fifth round of the
six-party talks in Beijing in early November among participants," said
Ban.
The South Koran top diplomat also said other bilateral discussions
between concerning parties were or will be held as preparations for the new
round of six-party nuclear talks.
"We expect that this process will lead to
greater common understanding, and serve to shape a clearer picture of the way
forward," Ban said.
"We hope to substantialize the content of the joint
statement and to rationally interlink the actions to be undertaken by the
parties based on the principle of 'mutually coordinated actions' enabling the
comprehensive implementation of the statement," Ban said.
The South Korean
foreign minister also said he thinks the priority of the fifth round of
six-party nuclear talks should be given to "implementation" or reaching "action
plan" of the joint statement.
According to Ban, the "action plan" should
contain contents of how the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)
abandons nuclear weapon program and related facilities, and the concrete
arrangement of economic aid the other five parties can provide to the DPRK as
well as verification measures on the DPRK's nuclear abandonment.
Ban also
called on keeping momentum in the negotiations although there may be challenges
in future rounds of talks.
On Sept. 19, delegations from China, the US, the
DPRK, Russia, South Korea and Japan adopted a joint statement at the end of the
fourth round of the six-party talks aimed to resolve the nuclear issue on the
Korean Peninsula.
In the joint statement, the DPRK is committed to abandoning
" all nuclear weapons" and "existing nuclear programs" and returning to the
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of Nuclear Weapons and to the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards at an early date.
In return, the other
five parties: China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States, stated
their willingness to provide energy assistance to the DPRK in the joint
statement.
Xinhua
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