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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| North Korea proposes talks with US over ship sinking |
| 2010-07-10 |
| North Korea on Friday proposed military talks with the United States next week to discuss the sinking of a South Korean warship which Washington blames on the North. The proposal was made as diplomats said the UN Security Council would approve a statement condemning a torpedo attack on the warship Cheonan, without directly blaming the North. An international investigation concluded in May that North Korea torpedoed the vessel near the tense Korean sea border, killing 46 sailors. The North vehemently denies the accusations and has warned any punishment would trigger war. Late last month, the American-led UN Command, which oversees an armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953, proposed general-level talks with North Korea to discuss the warship sinking. The North, however, rejected the offer, urging Washington not to interfere in inter-Korean affairs under the name of the UN. On Friday, however, the North reversed its position and proposed a working-level contact between colonels with the US next Tuesday at the border village of Panmunjom to prepare for the general-grade talks. "This proposal is a manifestation of the unshakable will of the army and people of (North Korea) to probe the truth behind the 'Cheonan' case in an objective, scientific and fair way," the North's military said in a message sent Friday to the US command in Seoul, according to the Korean Central News Agency. North Korea made the proposal because South Korea has rebuffed its calls for direct inter-Korean military talks, KCNA said. Calls to the US command in Seoul seeking reaction were not answered late Friday. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Pity Ted Kennedy croaked. We could use his Mary Jo experience here. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-07-10 23:16 |
| #1 Next: Japan proposes talks with US over Yamato sinking? |
| Posted by: borgboy 2010-07-10 15:47 |