South Korean Foreign
Minister Yu Myung-hwan on Thursday urged Pyongyang to return
to the six-party talks on nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) should
stop raising regional tensions and rejoin the six-party talks, Yu said
at his monthly press briefing here.
"I can't help expressing serious concern that the North (DPRK)
is declining the international community's agreement and further
damaging all the accomplishments in the six-party talks," he said.
In response to local media's questions on the possibility of
another nuclear test by the DPRK, the minister said the DPRK
"should not exacerbate the situation any more, follow the UN
Security Council statement and push for denuclearization."
So as to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's ongoing visit
to Pyongyang, Yu said that Seoul has closely consulted with
Moscow on the regional issues, adding that South Korean-Russian
consultations are closely underway as Russia is an important
member of the six-party talks.
Lavrov started his two-day visit to Pyongang on Thursday and is
reportedly to meet with DPRK's officials, including his counterpart
Pak Ui-chun and Parliamentary Speaker Kim Yong-nam.
Lavrov will visit South Korea after wrapping up his stay in
Pyongyang.
The DPRK announced in mid-April to quit the six-party talks and
expelled the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) observers
from its territory in protest of the United Nations (UN) Security
Council's presidential statement on its launch of a rocket earlier,
which the DPRK claims to be a satellite.