UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Welcoming the resumption of U.S.-North Korea talks, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls for redoubled efforts to de-nuclearize the Korean peninsula.
"The secretary-general welcomes reports of active preparations for the next round of the six-party talks on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," his spokeswoman, Michele Montas, said Friday. "He is encouraged in particular by the recent positive discussions in Berlin between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and United States negotiators.
"As consultations continue with other countries participating in the six-party talks, the Secretary-General calls on all involved to redouble their efforts toward implementation of the Joint Statement of Sept. 19, 2005," she added, referring to a commitment to denuclearize the peninsula that has so far not been acted upon.
The talks involve North Korea, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States. They have been on and off in Beijing for several years, but have so far failed to remove nuclear weapons from the peninsula.
North Korea carried out its first proclaimed nuclear test in October, after which the Security Council imposed various sanctions on the communist country.
