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Seoul Tries to Rev Up 6-Way Talks


Participating countries in the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programs are briskly maneuvering to resume the disarmament dialogue, which has been inactive since the latest round in November.

It was belatedly known that Song Min-soon, Seoul's top envoy to the six-way talks, returned from his two-day trip to Beijing on Tuesday, where he had exchanged ``creative opinions'' on how to reopen the multilateral dialogue.

Christopher Hill, U.S. top diplomat to the six-party talks, is also conducting shuttle diplomacy. He arrived in Seoul late last night via Japan and will depart for Beijing on Thursday.

In addition, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is believed to have been staying in China since Tuesday for undisclosed purposes, which experts, however, interpret as his willingness to return to the talks, if the U.S. drops its financial sanctions on North Korea.


# The Korea Times [January 12, 2006]
- By Park Song-wu