A North Korean soldier, left, looks at a South Korean soldier at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in the border village of Panmunjom between the two Koreas, 50 kilometers (32 miles) north of Seoul, in this March 26, 2003, file photo. The U.S. is reviewing a North Korean proposal to give up the nation's missiles and nuclear facilities in exchange for substantial U.S. economic benefits, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday, April 28, 2003. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File) |
SEOUL, South Korea - South
and North Korea agreed in Cabinet-level talks early Wednesday to peacefully
resolve the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula, a joint statement said.
"South and North Korea will thoroughly consult each other's position on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula and will continue cooperation to resolve their issue peacefully through dialogue," the joint communique said. The joint statement, reported by South Korean pool reporters at the talks in North Korea's capital Pyongyang, came after the North insisted that the South should not meddle in the nuclear standoff, calling it a dispute between itself and Washington. The three-day talks had been scheduled to conclude Tuesday but they were extended as the two sides had failed to reach agreement on the wording of the statement. Last week in talks between the United States
and North Korea, Pyongyang said for the first time it had nuclear weapons
and was contemplating exporting or even using them, depending on U.S. actions,
a senior U.S. official said.
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