Washington, October 06: The United States has said it is ready to engage North Korea bilaterally within the framework of the six-nation disarmament talks but stressed a complete denuclearisation by Pyongyang.
“The US remains willing to engage North Korea bilaterally within the framework of the six-party process to convince North Korea to take the path of complete denuclearisation,” the State Department spokesman, Ian Kelly, said yesterday.
The six-party group includes US, China, Japan, the two Koreas and Russia.
The US and other partners want North Korea to engage in a dialogue that leads to complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula through irreversible steps, he noted.
“The United States remains committed to the goal of the September 2005 Joint Statement: The Verifiable Denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula in a Peaceful Manner,” Kelly said.
He said there is consensus among the five parties that the verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula remains the core objective and essential goal of their engagement with North Korea, that the six-party process is the best mechanism for achieving denuclearisation, and that we remain committed to the full implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
When asked about the meeting between Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and North Korea leader Kim Jong-II, Kelly said: “We, of course, encourage any kind of dialogue that would help us lead to our ultimate goal that’s shared by all the partners in the six-party talks, which, of course, is the complete and verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.”
Both the Obama Administration and China shares the goal that North Korea will return to the six-party talks, he said.
–Agencies