North Korea proposed "unconditional and early" talks with the South Wednesday to mend battered cross-border ties, as a top U.S. envoy arrived in Beijing for meetings on the Korean peninsula crisis.
North Korea
proposed "unconditional and early" talks with the South Wednesday to
mend battered cross-border ties, as a top
U.S.
envoy
arrived in
Beijing
for
meetings on the Korean peninsula crisis.
In an unsually conciliatory statement carried by its KCNA agency,
Pyongyang
said
the communist nation "courteously propose having wide-ranging dialogue and
negotiations" with
South Korea
.
"In order to mend the north-south relations now at the lowest ebb we will
conduct positive dialogue and negotiations ... be they authorities or
civilians, ruling parties or opposition parties, progressives or
conservatives," said the statement.
It said
Pyongyang
is
"ready to meet anyone anytime anywhere" and called for
"unconditional and early opening of talks" among officials with
"real power and responsibility," it said.
The move from Pyongyang came two days after South Korean President Lee
Myung-Bak reached out to the North, offering closer economic ties if it changes
its course.
In his New Year policy address, delivered after
Pyongyang
called for improved relations in 2011, Lee said the door for talks was
"still open" if
North
Korea
shows sincerity to mend ties.
Relations between the two
Koreas
were
stretched to breaking point after the North shelled a South Korean island on
the disputed border in November, killing four people, including two civilians.
The South has since staged a series of military exercises, including a
live-fire drill on Dec. 20 on the island, but the North didn't follow through
with threats of a new and deadlier attack.
Earlier on Wednesday the chief
U.S.
envoy
on
North Korea
arrived in
Beijing
to
hold talks with
Pyongyang
's
main ally
China
,
after a visit to
Seoul
focused on reducing frictions on the peninsula.
Stephen Bosworth's three-nation tour comes six weeks after the North shelled the
frontier
island
of
Yeonpyeong
,
killing four South Koreans, including two civilians, and sending tensions in
the region to their highest level in years.
The
U.S.
embassy in
Beijing
said
Bosworth had arrived in
Beijing
Wednesday evening and would hold talks with officials before his expected
departure on Thursday for
Tokyo
.
In
Seoul
,
Bosworth met
South Korea
's
chief nuclear negotiator, Wi Sung-lac, and Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan, for
talks centered on
Pyongyang
's
nuclear program and easing strains that have emerged since November's attack.
Foreign ministry officials said Bosworth stressed that
Pyongyang
needed to show it was sincere about mending ties with
Seoul
if
six-party international talks on its nuclear program are to resume.
Kim added that any resumption of the multi-party talks should be preceded by
two-way talks between the
Koreas
.
The North has refused to discuss the nuclear issue directly with the South,
saying it only wants to deal with
Washington
.
"The six-party talks are a useful framework for negotiation on the North's
denuclearization but in order to achieve tangible progress through the talks,
the right atmosphere -- including bilateral talks -- should be created,"
Kim said.
"The government will continue pursuing both tracks -- dialogue and
sanctions -- to press the North to prove its willingness for denuclearization
through actions," he said.
Upon arrival in
Seoul
Tuesday, Bosworth called for "serious negotiations" as a central
strategy to deal with the communist state.
Bosworth also held talks with Unification Minister Hyun In-taek before
leaving for
Beijing
.
In
Washington
,
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said dialogue with the North should
be constructive. "We don't just want to have talks for talks' sake,"
he said.
Crawley
said the
United
States
wanted to see a reduction of
tension between the
Koreas
, an
end to North Korean provocation, and a seriousness of purpose with respect to
its obligations under a 2005 agreement on denuclearization.
The North also raised security fears that month by disclosing a uranium
enrichment plant to visiting
U.S.
experts.
Bosworth and Wi agreed that the North's uranium program deserved a stern
response from the international community, foreign ministry officials said.
The North has insisted the plant is designed solely to fuel a light-water
reactor being built to produce energy. But
U.S.
officials and experts say this could easily be converted to produce
weapons-grade uranium.
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