Germany's Merkel offers diplomatic initiative for DPRK nuclear issue: report

BERLIN -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel is ready to intervene directly in a diplomatic initiative to end the nuclear and missile program of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), a German newspaper reported Sunday.

"If our participation in talks is desired, I will say yes," Merkel said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

The German Chancellor drew attention to the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, in which Germany had participated alongside the five veto-voters in the UN Security Council. It was a "long but important period of diplomacy", which had come to a "good end" last year.

Merkel said she could also imagine such a format for the settlement of the DPRK issue. Europe and in particular Germany should be ready to contribute a very active part.

After the DPRK announced the success of its first hydrogen bomb test earlier this month, Merkel issued a statement strongly condemning DPRK's nuclear test, calling for further and stricter sanctions against Pyongyang and seeking a peaceful solution with negotiation.

Merkel in last week had already spoken over the phone with the presidents of France, the United States, China and South Korea, as well as the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss the issue. The report on Sunday said she will call Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.