hankyoreh

South Korea and the United States will begin next week to specify their joint approach to reviving the stalled Korean nuclear disarmament talks, Seoul's chief security adviser said Thursday.

Briefing reporters after a White House summit, Song Min-soon said discussions will be on a "common, broad" approach to restarting and pushing forward the six-party talks.

"A follow-up consultation is expected next week between South Korean and U.S. chief delegates to the six-party talks," he said.

"A proposal will be expanded and completed through detailed consultations."

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and U.S. President George W. Bush met as efforts and pressure were mounting to bring Pyongyang back to the six-nation forum that involves the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan.

The multilateral negotiations have been in hiatus since November, and Pyongyang continues to boycott, protesting punitive U.S. measures against a Macau bank accused of laundering money for North Korea.

The resumption of the talks gained urgency after North Korea test-fired a barrage of missiles in July, leading to a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Pyongyang's actions and paving the way for future sanctions against the North.

Responding to reporters after the summit, Roh and Bush reaffirmed their commitment to the six-party talks and to peaceful resolution of the nuclear dispute.

"As for the question about the common and broad approach being talked about between our two countries for the restart of the six-party talks, I must tell you that we are at the working level of consulting very closely on this issue," Roh said through an interpreter.

"But we have not yet reached a conclusion and this issue is very complex," he said.

Song said the consultations would be on how to bring North Korea back to the table, and how to coordinate actions each party can take to make progress.

Song was one of the participants in a meeting Wednesday at the U.S. State Department between South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, his U.S. counterpart, Condoleezza Rice, and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.

Song said there were no discussions about further sanctions against North Korea at the summit talks, an issue under much speculation following the Security Council resolution.

On the ongoing free trade agreement talks, the South Korean official said President Roh reiterated an emphasis on content rather than urgency but recommended the talks be expedited as much as possible.

Washington, Sept. 14 (Yonhap News)