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S.Korea to send nuclear talks envoy to US, China | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea”s delegate to talks on the North”s nuclear aims is going to China and the United States to decide how to implement the deal under which Pyongyang agreed to give up atomic weapons, the foreign minister said on Wednesday.

North Korea agreed last month to abandon its nuclear weapons program in return for aid, security guarantees and increased diplomatic recognition, but the agreement struck in Beijing was thin on how this would be achieved in practice.

Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said Song Min-soon, Seoul”s main negotiator to the six-country talks, would go to Washington and Beijing later this month to &#34help find common ground.&#34

&#34We need to look over the concrete process and follow-up measures on various agreements in the joint statement from the six-party talks,&#34 Ban told a news briefing.

The next round of talks — involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States — are due in November and negotiators said they want to set up a road map for dismantling the North”s nuclear programs and the rewards Pyongyang will receive for completing various steps along the way.

North Korea has cast a shadow over the agreement by saying it wants civilian reactors up front before dismantling its nuclear programs. Washington and other key players have said this was not part of the deal.