North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan smiles upon his arrival at Narita International Airport in Narita, east of Tokyo, Friday, April. 7, 2006. North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator Kim is in Japan to attend a security conference with officials from the five other nations involved in talks to halt the North's nuclear weapons program.
(AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)
Koreas seek common ground in Tokyo
TOKYO --North and South Korean officials hoped to find common ground in talks Saturday on the sidelines of a security conference in Tokyo.
The North and South Korean officials will meet at the Akasaka Prince Hotel in Tokyo, said Song Il Hyuck, a member of Pyongyang's team. He did not elaborate on the topic of discussion.
Officials involved in the six-nation talks aimed at halting North Korea's development of nuclear weapons have been gathering in Tokyo to attend a security forum sponsored by the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation.
Though ostensibly here for the conference, the gathering of top officials in Tokyo has raised hopes that they will be able to find common ground on which to jump-start the stalled nuclear talks.
Last September, the North agreed in the six-party talks to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees. Since then, however, no progress has been made on implementing the accord.
The last round of talks -- which include the two Koreas, Japan, China, the United States and Russia -- broke down in November, with no date set for a new round.
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