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North denies nuclear plans
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea has denied it is planning to build nuclear weapons during high-level ministerial talks in Seoul. Delegates from North and South are holding four days of ministerial talks in the South Korean capital. South Korea, which has been pushing diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the standoff, has been keen to press the North to prove its claims that it is not developing nuclear weapons and does not plan to do so. During talks Wednesday, South Korean officials say, the North Korean delegation told them Pyongyang had no plans to build nuclear weapons. "We made it clear that inter-Korean relations could be hurt unless the nuclear issue is not resolved promptly," South Korean delegate Rhee Bong-jo said after the hour-long meeting with North Korean officials. In reply, he said, the North Koreans had stressed their country had "no intention of making nuclear weapons." South 'not involved' in disputeThe ministerial talks are the highest-level regular contacts between North and South -- a process begun by the landmark June 2000 inter-Korean summit held in Pyongyang. Three further meetings are scheduled for this week. In a keynote speech Wednesday, South Korea's chief representative, Jeong Se-hyun, demanded the North freeze its nuclear facilities and reverse the decision to back out of the international treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons For his part, North Korea's chief negotiator said he believed the current dispute could be resolved through dialogue. Officials say the nuclear issue is likely to remain on the agenda for the next two days of talks. Pyongyang -- which has demanded "face-to-face talks" with the United States -- has argued that the dispute over its nuclear program is solely with Washington and does not involve the South. It has also denied admitting to a visiting U.S. delegation last October that it has an active nuclear weapons program, in contravention of a 1994 agreement. The alleged admission was the spark that ignited the current tensions. North Korea says it was forced to restart its nuclear facilities, mothballed under the 1994 pact, to compensate for an energy shortfall after Washington halted shipments of oil in the wake of the supposed admission.
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