Nuclear Issue Should Be Solved through Talks

On the final day of the 11th North-South Korean Ministerial-level Talks on July 12, North and South Korea have agreed to cooperate in resolving the nuclear issue peacefully through “appropriate talks”.

Following all-night negotiations that ended at 8:45 a.m. on that day, both Koreas concluded their second ministerial-level talks held at Shilla Hotel in Seoul and issued a joint announcement. The joint statement contains six items on which the two sides agreed. The expression “peaceful solution through appropriate talks” used by the two parties in their latest statement represents a slight advance from the text “peaceful solution through talks”, which was used at their 10th talks in April.

Spokesman for the South Korean delegation Shin Eon-sang, Policy Section Chief of the Ministry of Unification, said, “We can interpret this as a possibility of the North’s accepting multinational talks.”

In the joint announcement, the two Koreas have agreed on the “necessity of cooperation in order to maintain peace and security in the Korean peninsula.”

Both sides also agreed on the following: holding the 8th round of reunions of separation families at Mt. Geumgang on the Korean Thanksgiving Day, convening the 6th North-South Korea Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee Meeting in Seoul August 26-29, and establishing the North-South Korea Socio-cultural Cooperation Committee to promote cultural and sport exchanges.

However, South Korea’s proposal on the 2nd North-South Korea Defense Ministerial–level talks was unresolved due to skepticism from the North Korea delegation.

The 12th North-South Korea Ministerial Talks are scheduled to be held October 14-17 in Pyeongyang.

Seung-Ryun Kim srkim@donga.com