South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said in Seoul
today that patience and a sincere attitude from all parties
involved at the six-party talks were needed to resolve the Korean
nuclear issue.
"It is still too early to predict the outcome of the six-party
talks, but I hope the participating countries will work with
patience and sincere efforts to overcome current conditions to help
achieve peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and in
Northeast Asia," Lee said.
"I believe we will be able to fundamentally resolve the nuclear
issue and establish lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, which in
turn, as President Roh Moo-hyun once said, would help establish
peace in the Northeast Asian region and the world," he added.
Lee spoke highly of the efforts taken so far by the
international community to help resolve the nuclear dispute,
stressing that it was important now to "build trust" among the
parties concerned and implement previous agreements and
pledges.
The future and peace of the Northeast Asian region as well as
the world depended on the outcome of the talks, he said.
Negotiators from China, the US, Russia, Japan, North and South
Korea launched the second phase of the fifth-round six-party talks
in Beijing on Monday. Multi-lateral and bilateral contacts have
been conducted among the six parties.
(Xinhua News Agency December 20, 2006)