By Kim Young-jin
Seoul will remain “calm and resolute” in dealing with North Korea’s nuclear program despite Pyongyang’s recent provocative rhetoric against the Lee Myung-bak administration, the foreign minister said.
In a speech to an international nuclear forum in Seoul, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Kim Sung-hwan also urged patience from the international community over prospects for resumption of the six-party talks on Pyongyang’s denuclearization.
His remarks came four days after the North threatened to disclose a recording of a secret contact between the sides, throwing more cold water on efforts to warm ties and resume dialogue. It also vowed never to deal with Lee’s government.
“We are determined not to condone North Korea’s tactics of brinkmanship,” he said in a keynote speech at the event that precedes the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul next year.
“It follows that while there are high expectations for the resumption of the six-party talks, we believe that the talks should be resumed when they can yield substantive progress, rather than being held merely for the sake of dialogue.”
The minister reiterated Seoul’s stance that despite tensions, the door to dialogue remained open and that it would do what it could to revive dialogue.
Calls have grown for a prompt resumption of the talks as a tool to manage the North, which last year killed 50 South Koreans in two separate attacks and unveiled a uranium enrichment program capable of producing nuclear weapons. Regional players agree that the two Koreas should hold bilateral denuclearization before the forum restarts.
Kim reiterated Seoul’s demand that the North first apologize for the attacks, a move Pyongyang has consistently rejected.
Any resumption of talks, Kim said, should address safety concerns over the North nuclear program in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
“As it is highly likely that North Korea’s nuclear facilities do not commensurate with international safety standards, the safety of North Korea’s nuclear programs should be given more attention by the international community, and should be treated as a key agenda in future six party talks,” he said.
He also underscored the Lee administration’s view that international community clearly defines the North’s uranium program as illegal before discussing it at the six-party forum, which last met in 2008.
The forum, organized by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies and including hundreds of nuclear experts from around the world was expected to help lay the foundation for next year’s NSS.
Following last year’s inaugural summit in Washington, the Seoul event is expected to focus on global efforts to deal with nuclear terrorism and securing radioactive sources.
Kim said the summit would add a measure of stability during a year of political flux in the region and when Pyongyang has promised to emerge as a powerful country.
“The 2012 Summit will send out a strong message on renewing the importance of maintaining peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and pursuing the denuclearization of North Korea,” he said.