North Korea's nuclear ambitions are the biggest threat on the Korean peninsula, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said on Saturday, urging the North to return soon to six-party talks aimed at ending its atomic plans. His statement came after the two Koreas ended a high-level meeting on Thursday without agreement on resuming nuclear talks with China, Japan, Russia and the United States after a year of deadlock.
The North recently made some conciliatory gestures, including a vow by leader Kim Jong-il to return the six-party talks, possibly in July, and eventually scrap its nuclear programmes if Washington regarded it as a partner. But so far it has not set a firm date and Washington says Pyongyang is stalling. "Most threatening to peace on the Korean peninsula at the present is North Korea's nuclear problem. The six-party talks should be resumed soon," Roh said in a prepared speech to mark the 55th anniversary of the start of the Korean War.
The 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce instead of a peace treaty, meaning the two Koreas are technically still at war.
"We are putting our best efforts into that. During the ministerial talks, the South and North agreed to take practical steps to resolve the issue peacefully. The talks provided a basis to normalise long-stalled inter-Korean dialogue," Roh said.
North Korea has demanded for several months Washington withdraw what Pyongyang calls a hostile policy against it as a precondition for resuming the talks. Washington says the North should drop the excuses and return to the table.
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