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S.Korea expects peace talks with North during denuclearization

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South Korea hopes talks can be started to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War when Pyongyang's denuclearization has reached a 'proper stage,' Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said on Thursday.
MOSCOW, November 1 (RIA Novosti) -- South Korea hopes talks can be started to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War when Pyongyang's denuclearization has reached a 'proper stage,' Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said on Thursday.

The two Koreas have been technically at war since the conflict. However, any formal peace treaty would require the participation of the United States and China, which were also involved in the Korean War. The U.S. has so far been reluctant to discuss a peace treaty until the North fully discontinues its nuclear program.

"When the denuclearization process that is now under way makes progress and, to the view of related countries, reaches a proper stage, then I believe their leaders can come together and produce a certain kind of declaration," South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted Song as saying on Thursday.

In six-party talks held Tuesday involving South and North Korea, China, the U.S., Russia and Japan, Pyongyang agreed to disable the Yongbyon reactor by the end of the year, in exchange for 450,000 metric tons of heavy fuel oil, along with equipment needed to upgrade its thermal power facilities, equivalent to 500,000 metric tons of fuel oil.

"With North Korea's initial stage toward denuclearization now being started, I expect negotiations on building a peace regime will start at an appropriate time," Song said.

U.S. top negotiator Christopher Hill said participants in the six-nation talks would have to work hard in the next two months to ensure North Korea's denuclearization.

The U.S. diplomat said his country would like the six nations to hold a ministerial meeting on North Korea later this year, with working schedules currently being coordinated.

A group of US nuclear experts left for Pyongyang earlier in the day, as North Korea was expected Thursday to start disabling its nuclear facilities.

The leaders of North and South Korea signed a historic joint declaration at a summit in early October in Pyongyang pledging a commitment to peace talks and a range of economic ties.

The peace talks will be a priority on the agenda at a proposed meeting between Song and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice scheduled for November 7 in Washington, Yonhap quoted ministry officials as saying.

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