S.Korean to table three-step plan at nuke talks

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, February 24, 2004

S.Korean to table three-step plan at nuke talks

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South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck left Seoul for Beijing earlier Tuesday to attend the second round six-party nuclear talks with a plan aiming to solve the nuclear issue of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in his pocket.

Earlier, Lee said in a news conference that he would render a three-step proposal which was made on the basis of the "road map" South Korea proposed at the first round nuclear talks last August.

The three-step plan specifies proposals for a nuclear freeze by Pyongyang and political and economic concessions it would get in return.

According to local media reports, the first phase in Seoul's proposal is Pyongyang declaring abandonment of all nuclear weaponsprograms, and then other participants to the talks promising to provide a security assurance.

The second step is for the DPRK to act quickly to freeze nuclear facilities, to return to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and accept inspections of the United Nation's InternationalAtomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In return, South Korea, Russia and China provide energy and heavy fuel oil.

In the final stage, Pyongyang completes elimination of its nuclear programs and Washington gives a written security assuranceto the DPRK.

Lee said although the plan is not a joint proposal with the United States and Japan, but it has been discussed among the threecountries for many times.

And it seemed in Monday's trilateral consultation among South Korea, the United States and Japan, Seoul's proposal acquired understanding from the other two countries.

Kelly showed a positive response to the series of South Korea-proposed conditions to be attached to any offer by Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) of a nuclear freeze.

Kelly's expression was viewed locally as a tiny change from previous US position over the DPRK nuclear issue.

South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, who now is in MiddleEast, said last Sunday in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, that the coming six-party talks priority is to seek common ground between DPRK's claim for a nuclear program freeze and the US demand for "the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement" of the nuclear program.

Along with US and Japan, South Korea also holds the DPRK must scrap nuclear program in a "complete, verifiable and irreversible"manner.

And Seoul expressed many times before that only Pyongyang freezes its nuclear activities as its first step toward the ultimate abolition of nuclear program, including the one based on highly-enriched uranium, can compensations be considered.

Besides the three-phase proposals, Seoul also wants to procure "working group" organized by officials of the involving countries to deal with technical issues, thus to make the six-party nuclear talks to become a mechanism.

Seoul's "working group" proposal has been echoed by Russia and the US head delegates to the six-party talks.

And US Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed hope last Friday that the coming six-way talks would lead to more regular contacts among parties concerned.

South Korea wants to play a more active role in the second round nuclear talks, said Ban, adding Lee Soo-hyun will hold bilateral contacts with five other top delegates to the talks.

Seoul hopes the new round talks will bear good result and pave the way for final settlement of the DPRK nuclear issue.

South Korea's goal for the new talks is to try to issue a jointstatement which will contain a DPRK promise to scrap its nuclear weapons program, to set up a technical working group and set a newdate for the next meeting.

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