South Korea urges North Korea to return to nuclear talks.

(Baonghean.vn) - On June 25, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se called on North Korea to return to the suspended multilateral talks on nuclear disarmament on the peninsula, citing ongoing negotiations on the Iran nuclear deal.

He stated in a speech at a meeting of the Group of Eminent Individuals on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT): “North Korea is the only country to have conducted nuclear weapons tests in the 21st century. Despite international efforts, it is pursuing a misguided and outdated path, arguing that it can possess both weapons and food supplies.”

Foreign Minister Yun also urged North Korea to sign and ratify the CTBT, arguing that the country's nuclear weapons programs pose a serious challenge to the global nuclear non-proliferation mechanism.

The CTBT, left open for signing in 1996, has yet to come into effect because eight nuclear-capable countries, including North Korea, Iran, and the United States, have not voluntarily signed or ratified the agreement.

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on June 25. Photo: Yonhap.

However, Iran is nearing an agreement to limit its nuclear program in exchange for a reduction in international sanctions imposed by the P5+1 group, which includes the US, China, Russia, France, Germany, and the UK.

Yun said, "Pyongyang will learn a lesson from the Iran case and return to the negotiating table. Nuclear weapons bring nothing but isolation and sanctions."

The six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program have been stalled since late 2008. The remaining five member countries of these talks are South Korea, Japan, China, Russia, and the United States.

Regarding bilateral relations between Seoul and Pyongyang, the foreign minister stated, "The door for dialogue between the two Koreas remains wide open."

Thu Giang

(According to Yonhap)