DPRK, US to Open Talks Soon in Beijing: Spokesman

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, April 19, 2003

DPRK, US to Open Talks Soon in Beijing: Spokesman

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States will hold talks on the nuclear issue soon in Beijing, a DPRK Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday in Pyongyang.

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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States will hold talks on the nuclear issue soon in Beijing, a DPRK Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday in Pyongyang.

"The DPRK-US talks for the settlement of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is to open in Beijing shortly", the spokesman told the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the state media of the DPRK.

But he did not give the exact date for the talks, the first of its kind since the nuclear crisis erupted last October.

Beijing will play a "relevant role" as the host state, and the essential issues will be discussed between the DPRK and the United States, the spokesman said.

"The Iraq war teaches a lesson that in order to prevent a war and defend the security and sovereignty of a nation, it is necessary to have a powerful physical deterrent forces," the spokesman said.

He said the DPRK is reprocessing more than 8000 spent fuel rods at its nuclear facilities after resuming nuclear activities from last December.

The DPRK reactivated its nuclear program last December and then withdrew from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in late January.

The spokesman also made it clear that the DPRK will not stick to any dialogue format if the United States makes a bold switchover in its policy toward the DPRK.

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