SEOUL, Feb 13: US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Seoul today for discussions on North Korea’s nuclear programme, a day after high-level inter-Korean talks failed to resolve a row over looming South Korea-US military drills.
South Korea was Kerry’s first stop on an Asia tour that will also take him to China and Indonesia, with a focus on regional tensions stoked by China’s territorial claims.
As well as discussing efforts to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme, Kerry will be briefed in Seoul on a diplomatic initiative that saw the two Koreas sit down yesterday for their highest-level official talks since 2007.
The discussions ran late into the night, and ended without any tangible agreement or joint statement, although Seoul said both sides had committed to keep the dialogue going.
Although there had been no fixed agenda, the South had focused on ensuring that a planned reunion later this month for family members separated by the 1950-53 Korean War goes ahead as scheduled.
The February 20-25 event overlaps with the start of South Korea’s annual joint military exercises with the United States, which Pyongyang has denounced as provocative.
The North side demanded the joint drills be postponed until after the reunion was over, but the South’s Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-Jae said the request had been turned down.
“The Government made it clear this is unacceptable,” Ryoo told parliament.
There was no immediate comment from North Korea.
Briefing reporters in Seoul, presidential spokesman Min Kyung-Wook indicated that the talks had been a good opportunity for the two rivals to sound each other out.
“We’ve become clearly aware of North Korea’s intentions, and this was also an opportunity for us to clearly explain our principles,” he quoted a Government official as saying. (AGENCIES)
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