US Envoy Reportedly Says Official End to Korean War Unlikely in 2007

Oct 08, 09:20 AM

Current Headlines: Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap

[Yonhap headline: "Declaration of end of Korean War unlikely this year: Vershbow"]

Seoul, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) - US Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow said Monday that the official declaration of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War will not be practically possible within this year.

The US envoy told reporters that the verifiable denuclearization of North Korea is the prerequisite to both declaring the end of the war and discussing a peace regime. The deadline for North Korea to declare and disable its nuclear facilities is Dec. 31.

In an inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang last week, both Koreas agreed to arrange a meeting of concerned parties to replace the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War with an official peace treaty.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun [No Mu-hyo'n] and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-il, agreed to cooperate in arranging a meeting of the heads of state of the three or four parties directly concerned with declaring the official end to the Korean War. The three main parties are the two Koreas and the US, while China may or may not be involved as a fourth party to the talks.

Meanwhile, government sources said that Seoul plans to push for the four-party minister-level talks on the sidelines of the six- party foreign ministers' talks, which are expected to be held in Beijing at the end of this month or in November.

The four-party meeting, if held, would announce the beginning of negotiations for the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, including the declaration of the end of the Korean War, sources said.

Originally published by Yonhap news agency, Seoul, in English 1136 8 Oct 07.

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