US to urge NK apology for attacks on SK vessel, island

The U.S. has put a North Korean apology for last year`s sinking of the South Korean naval vessel Cheonan and shelling of Yeonpyeong Island on the agenda of talks with North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan in New York.

On the prospect of Washington putting Pyongyang’s apology for the two provocations on the agenda, said a high-ranking government official in Seoul on Monday, “That is likely. The U.S. will urge the North to take a forward-looking position.”

In inter-Korean talks on the North`s nuclear program held Friday in Bali, Indonesia, South Korea also brought up the Cheonan sinking and the shelling of Yeonpyeong.

On this, the government official said, “The denuclearization of North Korea was mainly discussed. So we didn’t pressure the North or make an issue out of it,” adding, “The two matters are not prerequisites to denuclearization talks but can affect the dialogue. Considering this, we will conduct the denuclearization dialogue.”

Switching to the upcoming talks between Washington and Pyongyang shortly after the inter-Korean talks in Bali, the source said “a new phase has come.”

If the past year, when the South strived to create an atmosphere for inter-Korean dialogue after the Cheonan sinking, was the first phase of dialogue, the second has just begun, the source said.

In the second phase, Seoul will focus on urging Pyongyang to take preliminary denuclearization measures necessary for the resumption of the six-party nuclear talks.

Preliminary denuclearization measures that Seoul and Washington demand include a halt to Pyongyang`s uranium enrichment program, nuclear arms production and tests, and ballistic missile launches. The North must allow the return of international inspectors to the Yongbyon nuclear facility.

The two Koreas, however, are expected to wage a war of nerves over the preliminary steps. In the inter-Korean dialogue Friday, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said his government wants to resume the six-party talks without taking the preliminary steps.

On this, a government source in Seoul said, “It might take a year to resume the six-party talks.”

zeitung@donga.com