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By Son Won-je, Staff Writer

A second round of inter-Korean denuclearization talks is scheduled to take place in Beijing around Sept. 21 between North Korean and South Korea’s senior representatives to the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. This months talks come two months after the first set in Bali, Indonesia, on July 22.
A key government official said Friday that an agreement had been reached through recent discussions between North Korea and South Korea to hold the second inter-Korean denuclearization talks in the middle of next week.
“Discussions are taking place right now over particulars such as the location and specific schedule, and there is a chance it will be taking place on Sept. 21,” the official added.
Analysts are interpreting the second round of talks as a signal from North Korea that it has prepared its response to South Korean and U.S. demands for “preliminary denuclearization measures” as voiced at initial summit meetings between each country and North Korea, and that it is prepared to enter a second round of dialogue with Washington following inter-Korean denuclearization talks.
A government official said, “As far as I am aware, nothing has been decided yet with regard to [a second round of] U.S.-North Korea dialogue.” But observers are predicting a strong chance that the inter-Korean talks will be followed by dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington, just as the first round took place six days after the first inter-Korean talks.
At a US-Australia defense ministers meeting in San Francisco Thursday (local time) a senior US official said that the US has laid out three issues for the north to address, referring to July's New York visit by North Korean first Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan. He added that they are still awaiting a clear signal from the North.
Regarding the specific preliminary measures, observers are predicting that the U.S. demands will be a halt to all nuclear activity, including uranium enrichment, as well as the suspension of missile test launches and improvements in inter-Korean relations.

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