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S. Korea Seeks to Resume Nuclear Talks NewsMax.com WiresSEOUL, South Korea -- President Roh Moo-hyun said Thursday he expected six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programs to resume after the inauguration of President Bush. North Korea has cited a ``hostile'' U.S. policy as the key stumbling block and demanded Washington provide a nonaggression treaty and compensation in return for ending its nuclear programs. It said it would wait for the second Bush administration's policy toward North Korea to emerge before engaging in new talks. Story Continues Below Speaking in a nationally televised New Year's news conference, Roh said the ``conditions have ripened'' for the resumption of six-nation talks. ``There seem to be few obstacles remaining,'' he said. ``It's difficult to give a definitive prediction on when the talks will start again.... But I expect that the talks can resume once President Bush takes office and his foreign policy team takes shape.'' Bush's new administration is to be inaugurated Jan. 20. The United States, North and South Korea, China, Japan and Russia have struggled to arrange a new round of talks on the North's nuclear weapons programs. The three prior rounds, hosted by China since 2003, made no breakthroughs. The last round was in June. Roh said he was ready to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il ``anytime, anywhere,'' but added that he doesn't want to press for a summit because chances for such a meeting are not high. The two Koreas have eased mutual hostility and increased trade, investment and other cross-border interchanges since the former battlefield foes held their first summit in 2000. But Pyongyang has yet to keep its promise to hold a second summit. The dispute erupted in late 2002 when Washington accused North Korea of running a secret uranium enrichment program in violation of international nonproliferation accords and cut off free oil shipments. North Korea denied the claim, quit the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and restarted its mothballed plutonium weapons program. Roh voiced confidence in the talks as a tool for resolving the disagreement. ``I don't want to have any negative or pessimistic prospects on the talks,'' Roh said. ``I don't want to talk about what should be done if the talks produce negative results. I will only have hopes and strive to make the talks successful.'' Roh didn't elaborate on how conditions have ripened for resuming negotiations. But in recent days, two U.S. congressional delegations - one led by Rep. Tom Lantos, the top Democrat on the U.S. House International Relations Committee, and the other by Republican Rep. Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania - have met with senior North Korean officials in Pyongyang in an effort to persuade the North to rejoin nuclear talks. Washington also reportedly decided to remove one of its harshest critics of Pyongyang's totalitarian regime, Undersecretary of State John Bolton, from the next administration. Bolton took a vehement stand against North Korea. Pyongyang called him ``human scum'' and refused to accept him as a dialogue partner. Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press
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