By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
South Korea and the United States will see no cracks in handling the North Korean nuclear issue, even after the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, who is expected to prioritize engagement with the communist state, Seoul's top diplomat said Friday.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan said the Lee Myung-bak administration shares the view with Obama that the North's nuclear problem should be solved through dialogue and cooperation.
``Our North Korea policy remains the same in basic principle; that dialogue and cooperation are necessary to help North Korea open up,'' Yu told a press conference at the ministry in Seoul. ``So we won't feel a need to change our policy toward North Korea, even when the Obama administration is engaged in talks.''
Since Obama's historic presidential win earlier this week, some experts on foreign affairs raised speculations that Cheong Wa Dae and the White House could face some conflict in dealing with Pyongyang.
During the presidential campaign, Obama emphasized ``sustained, direct, and aggressive'' engagement with North Korea, which conducted its first-ever nuclear test in 2006. The President-elect also opened the possibility of direct talks between Washington and Pyongyang, including face-to-face talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
Some are worried South Korea could be further alienated from North Korea, while the United States and North Korea move to mend ties.
As for possible Washington-Pyongyang direct talks, Yu said there will be ``synergistic effects'' in resolving the nuclear issue when the talks are held at the same time as inter-Korean talks.
Cross-border relations have chilled since Lee took office last February. The North has often criticized Lee's North Korea policy, which puts more emphasis on Pyongyang's denuclearization than assistance.
``Obama was largely expected to win the election, so we were fully prepared for it,'' said the minister, adding that the government has maintained sufficient ties with Obama's key advisors on security and foreign affairs, many of whom served during the Clinton administration.
``As the two governments share the goal of denuclearizing North Korea, there will be no great difficulties in coordination policies toward North Korea in terms of human networks and policy strategies,'' he noted.
With regard to the six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear program, Yu said the involved nations are consulting each other with the aim of resuming negotiations this month. Given the tight diplomatic schedule in the coming weeks, however, the resumption of the talks could be delayed until early December, he said, apparently referring to the Group of 20 summit in Washington, D.C. next week and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting later this month.
The six-way talks aimed at convincing the North to give up its nuclear ambition involve the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan.