SEOUL--Chief nuclear negotiators from the two Koreas will meet in Beijing as early as Sept. 21 to discuss conditions for a resumption of stalled six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear development program.
Wi Sung-lac, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs and lead delegate for the six-party talks, will meet with his North Korean counterpart, Vice Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, according to an announcement by South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Sept. 16.
The focus will be on North Korea's response to the five conditions for resuming the six-party talks set by the United States, South Korea and Japan.
The meeting will be the second between Wi and Ri following one held in Indonesia on July 22.
South Korea sought a second meeting between Wi and Ri to press North Korea on denuclearization.
The United States demanded North Korea meet all five conditions during a bilateral meeting at the end of July, according to sources close to the six-party talks. They include the immediate suspension of its uranium enrichment and compliance with the Korean War armistice agreement.
The United States also indicated it may hold another meeting with North Korea if there is progress in inter-Korean relations, the sources said.
North Korea is expected to demand a meeting with the United States after the one between Wi and Ri in Beijing. Pyongyang regards the United States as the only country with which it can discuss security issues.
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