South Korea dismisses North's nuclear 'ultimatum'
SOUTH KOREA: South Korea's foreign minister played down on
Tuesday the notion that North Korea delivered an ultimatum when it held
talks last week with a visiting U.S. envoy who was trying to save a
floundering nuclear disarmament deal.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill has been mostly
silent on the details of his three days of talks in Pyongyang. He said
the focus of the discussions was finding a way to verify claims the
North made about its nuclear programme.
"Reports on North Korea having made a very important suggestion or
issued an ultimatum seem to be grounded on matters in the past. It is
different from what was discussed at Hill's recent visit, which was a
verification protocol," Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan told a
parliamentary committee.
A pro-Pyongyang newspaper said on Monday that North Korea "seems to
have delivered its opinion on peacefully resolving the nuclear issues
... and issued an ultimatum in relation to this".
SEOUL, Tuesday, Reuters |