SEOUL, South Korea -- The US ambassador to South Korea said Tuesday that negotiators in Beijing were patiently working to set a date soon for resumed six-nation nuclear talks with North Korea.
The lead US and North Korean envoys were meeting Tuesday in China, joined there by the Chinese, Japanese and South Korean representatives to the nuclear negotiations that have been on hold for more than a year.
"It's more important that we have a serious chance of success rather than hurrying to set a date for these talks," Alexander Vershbow told university students during a lecture. He added that the revived six-nation talks, which also include Russia, would likely be held in mid-December.
Vershbow said US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill was meeting his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye Gwan, on Tuesday "to try to define some areas where we can make early progress."
Among the inducements to convince the North to disarm, Vershbow mentioned negotiating a peace regime on the peninsula to replace the cease-fire that has held since the 1953 end of the Korean War.
A peace settlement is among the points mentioned in a September 2005 agreement where Pyongyang pledged to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees.
However, no progress was made on implementing the accord as the North later boycotted the talks in anger over a US campaign to sever the nation from the international financial system for alleged illegal financial activity.
The arms talks gained new urgency after the North conducted its first-ever nuclear weapons test on October 9, and the country agreed later that month to return to the atomic talks to discuss the financial restrictions imposed by Washington.
Vershbow said the US stood by its diplomatic approach to resolving the standoff.
"Although the six-party process has been stalled for over a year because of the North Korean boycott, the United States still believes the talks present the best path forward," he said.
But the North has to also prove it is committed to the process by actual moves to abandoning its atomic development, Vershbow said.
"When the six-party talks resume, the North Koreans need to take early concrete steps toward dismantling all their nuclear programs," he said. "We need to see action, not just words."
