DPRK encouraged to take actions on nuke agreement

BEIJING - Beijing and Seoul will work together to encourage Pyongyang to take "concrete actions" to implement its agreement with Washington, Yonhap News reported, citing a ROK official, who attended the talks on Friday between foreign ministers of the two countries.

That comes as a series of confidence-building interactions between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea approach next week.

Speaking in Seoul, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi welcomed a pledge by the DPRK to halt its nuclear plans, Yonhap News reported on Friday.

"China surely welcomes the attempt because it can help lighten China's burden to tackle the nuclear dispute on the Korean Peninsula," said Chen Qi, an expert on East Asian studies at Tsinghua University.

The Republic of Korea will probably not disapprove of the improvement of relations between Washington and Pyongyang and the mollification of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, especially as the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit on March 26 approaches, he said.

The foreign minister's visit to Seoul comes after the DPRK announced on Wednesday that it would halt its nuclear tests, long-range missile launches and uranium enrichment activity as agreed with the US in high-level talks held in Beijing last week.

Pyongyang also agreed on the return of UN inspectors to verify and monitor the pause of uranium enrichment activities at Yongbyon and confirmed the disablement of the 5 megawatt reactor and associated facilities, Washington said in a statement on Wednesday.

In return, the US agreed to finalize the details with the DPRK to provide 240,000 tons of nutritional assistance for women and children.

As a series of meetings between the US and the DPRK approach next week, experts urged the removal of perceptions that Pyongyang may renege again on its nuclear commitments.

Ri Yong-ho, deputy-foreign minister of the DPRK, will attend a security forum from Wednesday to Friday at Syracuse University in New York about the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland confirmed the visit at a regular news conference on Thursday in Washington. Nuland added that currently there are no plans for an official meeting between Washington and Pyongyang.

"Ri's visit will remove some suspicions between the US and the DPRK. The fragile trust and deep misunderstandings between Pyongyang and Washington have greatly influenced bilateral ties for a long time," said Wang Fan, an expert on international security at China Foreign Affairs University.

"The DPRK has always attempted to improve the ties with the US. While the US has moved along with prudence, Washington would also welcome improvement to US-DPRK ties."

US Envoy on DPRK Human Rights Issues Robert King is likely to hold a follow-up meeting on food aid next week in Beijing with Ri Gun, director-general of the DPRK's North American Affairs Bureau, Yonhap reported on Friday, citing an unidentified diplomatic source in Washington.