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Russia offers N. Korea nuclear deal
By CNN's Jill Dougherty
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- A Russian envoy has delivered Moscow's plan to resolve the nuclear standoff between Washington and Pyongyang. In meetings with North Korean officials, Russian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Losyukov gave Pyongyang details of the plan, developed by Moscow over the past few weeks. Under the proposal, unveiled to CNN by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Sunday, North Korea would once again sign onto the nuclear non-proliferation treaty that it withdrew from earlier this month. For its part, the United States would have to completely follow through with its end of a 1994 pact, under which Pyongyang promised to freeze its nuclear program in return for aid. In addition, the Russian plan calls for North Korea to receive a guarantee of not being attacked. In Seoul, a spokesman for South Korean President-elect Roh Moo-hyun said the incoming government considers the Russian plan "very positive." The nuclear crisis on the peninsula arose after North Korea said it was restarting its nuclear program, frozen under a 1994 agreement with Washington, because the United States had failed to follow through on its part of the deal. Pyongyang said it was forced to restart its Yongbyon nuclear reactor to provide power after Washington stopped sending heavy fuel oil shipments to North Korea. The United States and its allies stopped the shipments after American officials said North Korea had admitted to a secretive nuclear weapons program. North Korea denies work on any nuclear weapons. Pyongyang raised the stakes in the standoff by announcing its withdrawal from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and threatening to drop its self-imposed moratorium on testing missiles. The Russian plan calls for "a constructive bi-lateral and multi-lateral dialogue" between the sides, under which North Korea would receive guarantees of its security. Bush administration officials have said they would be willing to have a dialogue with North Korea about giving up its alleged nuclear program -- but they have drawn the line at negotiating a deal to resume economic aid in return for halting the program. On Sunday, thousands of people across North Korea gathered to show support for leader Kim Jong Il's decision to withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. But in Seoul, thousands of South Koreans rallied in front of city hall to pronounce their support for the United States. Some even burned North Korea's flag to show their unhappiness with Pyongyang's recent maneuvers. Russia has offered to play an active role in trying to find the means for a political solution of the standoff. It says it does not want to play the role of "middle man" but believes "quiet diplomacy" is key. China has offered to host talks between the United States and North Korea as a gesture to bring a peaceful solution, according to China's Foreign Ministry. Meanwhile, North and South Korea will hold cabinet-level talks in Seoul beginning Tuesday to discuss the North's nuclear development programs and reconciliation proposals between the two Koreas, according to South Korea's Unification Ministry. It will be the ninth Inter-Korean Summit, and the Unification Ministry said Seoul will try to use the four-day meeting in Seoul to persuade North Korea to abandon its alleged nuclear weapons program.
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