[USFK Forums] South Korea has trouble pushing North to nuclear talks [Reuters]

[C. Y. Lee]

[Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Friday, December 16, 2005]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday December 16, 12:15 AM

South Korea has trouble pushing North to nuclear talks

SOGWIPO, South Korea (Reuters) - North and South Korea found common ground on preserving Korean culture but could not reach an agreement on Thursday to hasten Pyongyang's return to multilateral negotiations on ending its nuclear programmes.

At a meeting of ministers from North and South Korea, the two sides reiterated their support of trying to resolve a crisis over North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons in a peaceful manner, a source close to the talks said.

It was the first senior-level meeting between the two since Pyongyang threatened to pull out of separate six-party talks on its nuclear weapons programme.

The talks on the South Korean resort island of Cheju started on Tuesday and end on Friday. "Both sides confirmed their willingness to implement the Sept. 19 joint statement and try to resolve the situation in a peaceful manner," the source said.

The source was referring to a deal reached at talks between the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States where North Korea agreed to scrap its nuclear weapons programmes in exchange for economic aid, security assurances and greater diplomatic recognition.

The support of the Sept. 19 agreement and a search for a peaceful solution to the nuclear crisis covers no new ground because both sides have made similar pledges before. A joint statement from the ministerial meeting was expected on Friday.

South Korean officials have said they wanted to try and prod North Korea back to the six-party talks at the meeting in Cheju. The source close to the talks said the two sides agreed to work to register cultural sites in the ancient Korean capital of Kaesong with UNESCO as part its world heritage project.

They are also working on another round of reunions for families separated by the 1950-1953 Korean War and a way to have an exchange of letters among families that have already met in previous rounds of reunions, the source said.

Officials from the two Koreas have taken time away from the talks to see the sights in Cheju and even shared heart-shaped tangerines during their discussions.

FROSTY TIES

Ties between the two Koreas have warmed in recent months with rounds of ministerial talks producing agreements on business cooperation, humanitarian aid and ways to bolster the North's beleaguered agricultural sector.

The two did not discuss a U.S. crackdown on North Korean finances, a Unification Ministry official said. While ties between Seoul and Pyongyang have been mostly warming in recent months, relations between Pyongyang and Washington has become downright chilly.

Washington, which accuses North Korea of funding its nuclear programmes partly through money obtained from counterfeiting, money laundering and the drug trade, has angered the communist North by freezing a few of its assets and trying to put the brakes on firms taking part in suspected illegal trade.

The U.S. ambassador to South Korea recently called the North "a criminal regime." Pyongyang said this month the U.S. crackdown on its financial assets made it impossible to resume talks on dismantling its nuclear programmes. It labelled the U.S. envoy to Seoul as "the most *****y and malignant ambassador in history," in a state media report on Wednesday.