The 18th inter-Korean ministerial talks concluded on Monday in
Pyongyang with a joint statement pledging to seek a peaceful
solution to the nuclear standoff and to further strengthen
bilateral cooperation on a range of issues.
In the joint statement containing eight agreements, the North
Koreaand South Korea agreed to take substantial measures to push
for "the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" and to ensure
that the nuclear issue can be resolved peacefully" by fulfilling a
September accord made at the end of the fourth round of the
six-party talks last year, according to the official Korean Central
News Agency (KCNA).
The two Koreas also agreed to guarantee peace and ease tension
on the peninsula by taking effective measures and to recognize and
respect each other's ideology and systems.
Economic cooperation would be strengthened between the two
neighbors to improve national economic development, the statement
said.
In the September accord, the North Korea was committed to
abandoning "all nuclear weapons" and "existing nuclear programs"
and returning to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the safeguards of
the International Atomic Energy Agency at an early date.
In return, the other five parties -- China, Japan, South Korea,
Russia and the United States -- stated their willingness to provide
energy assistance to North Korea.
In the four-day ministerial talks, South Korea had hoped to
persuade North Korea to cooperate on the issue of South Korean
nationals allegedly abducted or taken prisoner by Pyongyang, the
KCNA reported.
Both sides had agreed to cooperate with each other in their
efforts to substantially settle the issue of the persons whose
whereabouts had remained unknown since the Korean War and in the
subsequent period, the report said.
The ministerial meeting -- this year's first -- was originally
planned for March 28 to 31, but North Korea decided to postpone it
due to a joint military exercise between the US and South
Korea.
Kwon Ho-ung, the chief councilor of the Cabinet of North Korea,
and South Korea's unification minister Lee Jong-seok headed their
respective delegations.
The next round of inter-Korean ministerial talks is scheduled to
be held at Pusan in South Korea from July 11 to 14, according to
the joint statement.
(Xinhua News Agency April 25, 2006)
