US, S. Korean envoys discuss N. Korea
(AP)
Updated: 2006-03-06 11:26

The top US negotiator on North Korea's nuclear program met over the weekend with his South Korean counterpart to discuss ways to resume the stalled talks with the communist nation.

Commander of US Forces in Korea General B.B. Bell (L) along with other officers look toward North Korea near the border village of Panmunjom, in the demilitarized zone dividing the Korean peninsula, in February 2006. High-level military talks between South and North Korea broke down over the North's demand that the Cold War rivals draw a new border in disputed waters in the Yellow Sea.[AP]

But Chun Young-woo, Seoul's new top nuclear negotiator, warned Monday that the talks will have little meaning without progress on ending the North's nuclear ambitions.

"It would be good to resume the talks at an early date but the resumption itself is not an objective," Chun told The Associated Press. "The talks would be of no use if no conditions are in place to make any progress."

The one-hour meeting Saturday between Chun and Assistant US Secretary of State Christopher Hill 锟斤拷 their first since Chun took the job 锟斤拷 came as US and North Korean officials prepare to meet in New York on Tuesday to discuss US allegations of the North's involvement in counterfeiting.

Chun and Hill met at Seoul's main international airport, then Hill continued on to Washington from a trip to Indonesia.

"We exchanged opinions on the situation and discussed general things," Chun said of his meeting. He did not elaborate.

Since November, North Korea has refused to attend the six-nation talks unless Washington lifts restrictions imposed on a Macau bank and North Korean companies for their alleged complicity in counterfeiting, money laundering and weapons proliferation.

The US has urged North Korea to resume negotiations, saying the restrictions are separate from the arms talks, which involve the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.