ROK, US place priority of DPRK policy on nuke program

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea and the United States re-confirmed on Tuesday that top priority of their policy toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was placed at dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear program.

US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, who arrived in Seoul on Monday for a two-day visit, held talks with Kim Kyou-hyun, the ROK's First Vice-Foreign Minister, to discuss issues such as cooperation between the two allies, the DPRK's nuclear program and the Northeast Asian situation, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ministry said that the talks were in an extended line with the ministerial dialogue held on Jan 7 this year in Washington, noting that Burns and Kim had an in-depth discussion on the DPRK situation, which became volatile following the execution of Jang Song-thaek, once-powerful uncle of DPRK leader Kim Jong-un.

The two diplomats shared views over the DPRK situation, promising to cooperate more deeply with each other on the DPRK policy.

Touching on the possible provocations from the DPRK, the two allies vowed to make concerted efforts to deter it, confirming that Seoul and Washington will strongly respond to any provocations.

Burns and Kim said that Seoul and Washington will place the DPRK nuclear issue at their top priority, noting that efforts will be made to make an actual progress in the nuclear issue by closely consulting with countries involved, including China.

They also shared views that the two allies should closely cooperate to build grounds for the reunification of the two Koreas and sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Burns told reporters after the meeting that he and Kim shared the importance of the verifiable denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, saying that the two countries will continue their efforts to resume talks for the credible and authentic denuclearization of the peninsula.

The six-party talks, the aid-for-denuclearization dialogue including the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, have been suspended since late 2008. Seoul and Washington have called on Pyongyang to show its sincerity towards the denuclearization before resuming the multilateral dialogue.

Later Tuesday, Burns will fly to China to continue his week-long East Asian tour, which also includes Japan.