[USFK Forums] North, South to hold 17th round of talks [JoongAng]

[C. Y. Lee]

[Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Tuesday, December 13, 2005]
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North, South to hold 17th round of talks

The Joong-ang Ilbo, Tueday, December 13, 2005 ㅡ North and South Korean ministers will meet for another round of talks beginning today on the southern resort island of Jeju.

The Unification Ministry said Seoul would again try to persuade Pyongyang to come to talk between military officials of the two neighbors.

It will also press for discussions on the repatriation of South Korean prisoners of war believed to still be alive in the North and civilians later kidnapped to North Korea. Pyongyang has rejected both pleas in the past.

Seoul will also press North Korea to return to the six-nation nuclear disarmament talks, which North Korea has threatened to boycott out of pique with U.S. financial sanctions. The meeting is the 17th of its kind. The delegations will be led by Unification Minister Chung Dong-young and North Korea’s cabinet councilor, Kwon Ho-ung.