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SEOUL: South Korea on Tuesday reiterated its stance on talks over a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, noting that such dialogue can only be held after the six-party negotiations are resumed and progress is achieved in the denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( DPRK).
The statement by South Korea's foreign ministry spokesman Kim Young-sun came one day after the DPRK proposed discussing a peace treaty with relevant state parties to replace the Armistice Agreement that ended the 1950-1953 Korean War, either in the framework of the six-party talks, or in a "separate forum" as what the Joint Statement of September 2005 proposed.
The statement urged the DPRK to immediately return to the six- party forum and begin taking steps toward the irreversible denuclearization.
It also said the "grand bargain" proposed by Seoul is a package of solution that includes the elements of the Joint Statement of 19 September 2005, and South Korea hoped that the six-party talks will be resumed for detailed negotiations based on the "grand bargain".
South Korea will keep close consultations with related countries engaged in the six-party talks, and continue its diplomatic efforts to seek the early resumption of the international nuclear disarmament negotiations and the denuclearization of the DPRK, the statement said.