S-N military talks to resume today
페이지 정보
작성자 Lee Tae-hoon 작성일11-02-08 07:58 조회1,505회 댓글0건관련링크
본문
Preliminary military talks between the two Koreas for a possible future ministerial meeting ended with little progress Tuesday, but both agreed to meet again today to narrow their differences, a defense ministry official said Tuesday.
"The two sides discussed possible topics, the place and level of representatives to higher-level talks, but failed to find common ground,” said Kim Min-seok, spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense. “They agreed to resume the meeting at 10 a.m. today."
<##IMAGE##> The second round of the colonel-level military talks will continue at the truce village of Panmunjeom that lies on the heavily fortified inter-Korean border.
Kim noted that Seoul insisted Pyongyang take responsibility for two military attacks last year and promise not to stage any further provocations against the South as a precondition to a higher-level meeting.
"We stressed that the North must take responsible measures for the torpedo attack on the frigate Cheonan and the artillery bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island first before moving the talks forward," the spokesman said.
However, Pyongyang refuted this, saying Seoul’s insistence to talk only about the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong issues at higher-level talks was no different from rejecting further dialogue.
The North demanded the two Koreas discuss measures to halt provocative military acts as an agenda item of the higher-level meeting.
Col. Moon Sang-gyun of the South and Col. Ri Son-kwon of the North were the participants in the talks, the first inter-Korean dialogue since Pyongyang’s deadly artillery attack on Yeonpyeong near the disputed maritime border on November 23.
According to a defense source, the North complained about the South sending propaganda leaflets denouncing the communist regime across the border, and raised the issue over the legitimacy of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto inter-Korean maritime border, during the preliminary meeting.
The NLL has been the scene of several bloody conflicts in recent years as Pyongyang does not respect it. The North claims the sea border was drawn unilaterally by the U.S.-led United Nations Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Pyongyang claimed that its shelling of Yeonpyeong was legitimate because Seoul provoked it by holding a live-fire drill near the island with some shells allegedly falling in the North’s territorial waters.
The North also flatly denied its involvement in the torpedoing of the frigate Cheonan.
Seoul and Pyongyang held their last working-level military talks at Panmunjom on Sept. 30, 2010.
The preliminary talks came on the heels of the U.S.-Chinese summit in Washington last month, during which the leaders of the two superpowers agreed that inter-Korean dialogue is necessary before resuming the six-party talks.
"The two sides discussed possible topics, the place and level of representatives to higher-level talks, but failed to find common ground,” said Kim Min-seok, spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense. “They agreed to resume the meeting at 10 a.m. today."
<##IMAGE##> The second round of the colonel-level military talks will continue at the truce village of Panmunjeom that lies on the heavily fortified inter-Korean border.
Kim noted that Seoul insisted Pyongyang take responsibility for two military attacks last year and promise not to stage any further provocations against the South as a precondition to a higher-level meeting.
"We stressed that the North must take responsible measures for the torpedo attack on the frigate Cheonan and the artillery bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island first before moving the talks forward," the spokesman said.
However, Pyongyang refuted this, saying Seoul’s insistence to talk only about the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong issues at higher-level talks was no different from rejecting further dialogue.
The North demanded the two Koreas discuss measures to halt provocative military acts as an agenda item of the higher-level meeting.
Col. Moon Sang-gyun of the South and Col. Ri Son-kwon of the North were the participants in the talks, the first inter-Korean dialogue since Pyongyang’s deadly artillery attack on Yeonpyeong near the disputed maritime border on November 23.
According to a defense source, the North complained about the South sending propaganda leaflets denouncing the communist regime across the border, and raised the issue over the legitimacy of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto inter-Korean maritime border, during the preliminary meeting.
The NLL has been the scene of several bloody conflicts in recent years as Pyongyang does not respect it. The North claims the sea border was drawn unilaterally by the U.S.-led United Nations Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Pyongyang claimed that its shelling of Yeonpyeong was legitimate because Seoul provoked it by holding a live-fire drill near the island with some shells allegedly falling in the North’s territorial waters.
The North also flatly denied its involvement in the torpedoing of the frigate Cheonan.
Seoul and Pyongyang held their last working-level military talks at Panmunjom on Sept. 30, 2010.
The preliminary talks came on the heels of the U.S.-Chinese summit in Washington last month, during which the leaders of the two superpowers agreed that inter-Korean dialogue is necessary before resuming the six-party talks.
댓글목록
등록된 댓글이 없습니다.