N. Korea Offer of Direct Talks Needs Clarifying, South Says
GENEVA — South Korean negotiators pressed their North Korean counterparts Wednesday to clarify an offer to hold one-on-one peace talks between the two countries.
“Basically the North Koreans indicated their willingness to have talks, but exactly what that means--exactly when, how, that sort of thing” remains to be determined, Seoul spokesman Oh Il Son said.
The North’s offer was revealed in Seoul by South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jung Soo. He said North Korea had signaled in Geneva its desire for direct discussions with South Korea’s new government.
North Korea has always attached conditions to any offer of holding talks, and it wasn’t clear whether the latest action was a breakthrough or would carry more conditions.
Oh said one of the questions to be determined is whether the North-South talks would be under the umbrella of this week’s four-party talks in Geneva with the United States and China.
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