Foreign Minister: Nuke Talks to Resume in May

Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yu Myung-hwan said yesterday that he believes the six-way talks on North Korea’s nuclear program will resume by the end of May.

In a news conference, he mentioned a considerable narrowing of differing views in talks last week between the United States and North Korea in Singapore.

“Since the U.S. is taking certain domestic measures to end the impasse over talks on ending North Korea’s nuclear program, I think China, the chair of the talks, will fine-tune the schedule of the six-party talks with other member nations including [South] Korea, the United States, Japan, and Russia,” Yu said. “The step we are now undergoing is preliminary.”

In the wake of mixed responses over the results of the Singapore dialogue, Yu’s comments suggest that the stalled talks have passed a critical hurdle and could advance to the next step.

jin0619@donga.com