Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Stop the War! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Spytrdr who wrote (13763)	4/16/2003 12:55:31 AM
From: Edscharp	Respond to of 21614

lesson of Iraq War story.news.yahoo.com North Korea ready for nuke talks: South Korea Mon Apr 14, 2:47 AM ET SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea (news - web sites) said that North Korea (news - web sites) had signalled it was ready for multilateral talks to resolve the six-month-old nuclear crisis. In its first official statement since North Korea said Saturday it was ready for talks with the United States under any format, South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun's office said the move showed North Korea was complying with international efforts to resolve the crisis and was ready to accept dialogue. "The government considers this as an indication that North Korea will accept multilateral talks on resolving its nuclear issue," it said in a statement. It added that the North Korea statement shows "that North Korea appears to be creating a favourable atmosphere for dialogue while complying with efforts by our government and the international community to solve the nuclear issue through dialogue." South Korean officials, buoyed by a welcoming response from US President George W. Bush (news - web sites), expressed optimism that diplomacy may be defusing the impasse over North Korea's nuclear weapons drive. Until now, Pyongyang had insisted on one-on-one talks with Washington to resolve the dispute over its nuclear ambitions. Washington has rejected Pyongyang's demand, insisting a bilateral negotiating track would amount to a reward for "bad behavior" by North Korea. South Korea's national security advisor Ra Jong-Yil told Yonhap news agency that the North Korean change of heart might have been prompted by the swift US military victory in Iraq (news - web sites) and the fall of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). A Foreign Ministry official here said South Korea would now press Washington and Pyongyang to begin dialogue as soon as possible. South Korea has said the format for multilateral talks could include the two Koreas, Japan, China, the United States and Russia. The nuclear standoff erupted in October when North Korea reportedly admitted that it was running a secret uranium-enrichment programme, in violation of a 1994 nuclear deal between the two countries.