N. Korea nuclear talks likely as planned
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-08-25 07:14

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon discussed the six-party talks during a meeting on Tuesday in Washington.

Sasae is set to fly to Washington on Thursday for a meeting with Rice and his U.S. counterpart in the nuclear discussions.

Washington has offered security guarantees and economic aid, backed by a plan from South Korea to supply the North with electricity equal to its current output, in exchange for North Korea dismantling its nuclear weapons programs.

BEST U.S. OFFER

"There has never been a more positive signal in 50 years than what the United States has offered the North," South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-sik told a forum in Seoul.

"It has everything the North wants. The North must look at the pros and cons of passing on all of that and sticking to its nuclear programs," Lee said.

"The United States has promised normalization of relations in return for North Korea giving up all its nuclear programs. I think there will be some good result soon," he said.

In a sign that the U.S. position is softening ahead of the planned talks resumption, the top U.S. negotiator said the issue of the North having a civilian nuclear plan was a "theoretical, downstream" issue that would not break a deal.

"If you ask me, it's not exactly a showstopper issue -- the real issue is getting rid of all their nuclear programs," Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters in Washington.

U.S. officials have been skeptical about allowing North Korea to pursue a civilian nuclear program out of concern that such a program actually would be used for military purposes.

On Wednesday North Korea denounced joint military drills by U.S. and South Korean forces, where the two are testing their computer and command systems, as coercion.

The exercises are aimed to "pressurize the DPRK by force of arms to meet the unreasonable demands (the United States) raised at the six-party talks," the North's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary carried by the KCNA news agency.

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