SEOUL, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Seoul's top diplomat Yu Myung- hwan said Monday efforts are being made underway to bring the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) back to the six- party talks, calling the DPRK's insistence on bilateral talks with the United States a "wrong approach."
"It's hard to predict when six-party talks would resume, as North Korea (DPRK) is insisting on the lifting of the United Nations sanctions and negotiating a peace treaty before discussing its denuclearization process," Yu said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua, referring to the stalled negotiations on ending Pyongyang's nuclear programs.
The U.N. resolution imposing sanctions on the DPRK reflects the opinion of the international community, and Pyongyang needs to show more willingness for its denuclearization in order to seek certain changes it wants, the minister said.
"Any possible easing or lifting of U.N. sanctions isn't a matter to be decided unilaterally by one party. I believe North Korea's insistence on bilateral talks with the U.S. is a wrong approach," he said.
The remarks come at a time when hopes for reopening the stalled talks have picked up amid a flurry of diplomatic efforts, including the recent exchanges of high-level visits between Pyongyang and Beijing. The six-party nuclear disarmament talks, involving the DPRK, South Korea, China, the U.S., Japan and Russia, were launched in 2003 but hit a snag in April 2009 when Pyongyang pulled out of the talks in protest of the U.N. condemnation of its missile tests.
