Asia-Pacific

S Korea, Japan agree on resuming six-party talks

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-05-11 16:24

SEOUL - South Korea and Japan expressed Wednesday support for China's proposal that the South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea first hold dialogue before restarting talks aimed at dismantling nuclear programs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), local media reported.

Related readings:  No change in stance on resuming six-party talks: ROK  China expects early, fruitful inter-Korean talks  China calls for peaceful solution to Korean Peninsula issue  China urges early resumption of Six-Party talks

Japan's top envoy to the stalled six-party nuclear talks, Shinsuke Sugiyama, reportedly said after meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Wi Sung-lac, that they agreed to a three-stage step for resuming the six-way negotiations, proposed by host China.

China has suggested South Korea and the DPRK, whose military confrontation has brought their ties to an all-time low, first hold dialogue as the first step of reviving the six-party talks, stalled since December 2008.

Under the Chinese blueprint, proposed after a meeting between top nuclear envoys of Beijing and Pyongyang, the DPRK and the United States will then hold talks before reviving the moribund denuclearization talks.

South Korea has repeatedly made calls for such inter-Korean nuclear talks, but the DPRK, while expressing interest in returning to the six-party talks, has yet to respond to Seoul's offer.