Korean states seek nuclear stand-off resolution

The two Koreas today agreed to seek a peaceful resolution to the North’s nuclear stand-off with the international community but failed to set a date for stalled disarmament talks to resume.

“The two Koreas have agreed to take real measures for peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue through dialogue … with the ultimate goal of denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula,” said South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, Seoul’s head delegate.

The North has stayed away from arms talks for a year, citing “hostile” US policies. Last week, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Il said the communist state could return to the talks as early as next month if it received appropriate respect from Washington.

The top delegates from North and South appeared side-by-side at a news conference after their negotiations, a departure from previous high-level talks that normally ended with the issuing of a written statement.