S Korean president ready to meet Kim
S Korean President Lee Myung-bak said that he is willing to meet North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il any time if it will help end the North's nuclear programs.
By Agencies |
SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said he is willing to meet North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il any time if it will help end the North's nuclear programs, news reports said on Monday.
Lee's comments came as the negotiators from six nations prepared to resume talks in Beijing -- expected to start later this week -- to discuss ways to verify the North's recent declaration of its nuclear programs.
"I am ready to meet ... at any time," Lee said in an interview yesterday.
Former South Korean presidents have held summits with the North's reclusive leader Kim, but relations between the two countries turned sour when Lee -- a pro-US conservative -- took office in February with a pledge to get tough with Pyongyang.
The North -- which conducted its first nuclear test detonation in October 2006 -- recently blew up the cooling tower at its Yongbyon reactor complex to demonstrate its commitment to abandoning nuclear weapons.
The destruction came in response to US concessions to remove Pyongyang from terrorism and sanctions blacklists, after the North delivered a long-awaited declaration of its nuclear programmes.
Lee welcomed the North's declaration of its nuclear programmes but urged the communist country to take more action to dismantle its nuclear programmes.
The six-party disarmament talks -- which include the two Koreas, the US, China, Russia and Japan -- were last held in October.
Lee's comments came as the negotiators from six nations prepared to resume talks in Beijing -- expected to start later this week -- to discuss ways to verify the North's recent declaration of its nuclear programs.
"I am ready to meet ... at any time," Lee said in an interview yesterday.
Former South Korean presidents have held summits with the North's reclusive leader Kim, but relations between the two countries turned sour when Lee -- a pro-US conservative -- took office in February with a pledge to get tough with Pyongyang.
The North -- which conducted its first nuclear test detonation in October 2006 -- recently blew up the cooling tower at its Yongbyon reactor complex to demonstrate its commitment to abandoning nuclear weapons.
The destruction came in response to US concessions to remove Pyongyang from terrorism and sanctions blacklists, after the North delivered a long-awaited declaration of its nuclear programmes.
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Lee welcomed the North's declaration of its nuclear programmes but urged the communist country to take more action to dismantle its nuclear programmes.
The six-party disarmament talks -- which include the two Koreas, the US, China, Russia and Japan -- were last held in October.
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