SEOUL, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- South Korea's nuclear envoy Tuesday said the long-stalled six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear drive are expected to reopen in mid-December.
"I think it's possible for the six-party talks to be resumed by mid-December," Chun Yung-woo, Seoul's chief negotiator to the talks, told a local radio program.
"It is more important to achieve substantial progress when the six-party talks resume than how quickly we would resume the talks," he said. "When the talks are resumed, it's important to confirm the North's intention to scrap its nuclear programs," Chun said.
"I think the United States is ready to go ahead with the talks sincerely if the North's sincerity toward the talks is confirmed," Chun said before leaving for Hanoi, where he is to meet his U.S. and Japanese counterparts.
Pyongyang has boycotted the six-party talks since November 2005, after the United States slapped restrictions on a Macau-based bank accused of laundering money for North Korea.
Late last month, however, North Korea agreed to return to the six-way talks, which also involve China and Russia. No date has yet been fixed for the next round.
