S. Korea urges N. Korea rejoin nuke talks

SEOUL, April 23 (UPI) -- South Korea's foreign minister urged North Korea Thursday to rejoin the six-way talks on its nuclear program and to stop hindering the process.

Yu Myung-hwan's statement came as his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, began a two-day trip to Pyongyang with a similar message to defiant North Korea, Yonhap, the Korean central news agency, said.

Yu told reporters in Seoul he had a "serious concern" that North Korea is making matters worse in the talks by "rejecting the international community's agreement."

His comments referred to a series of moves by Pyongyang to protest the U.N. Security Council's condemnation of North Korea's April 5 rocket launch. The North announced last week it would "never" return to the talks that also involve the United States, China and Japan.

"North Korea should not exacerbate the situation any more, abide by the U.N. Security Council statement and push for denuclearization," the minister said,

He said if the North reactivates its plutonium reprocessing factory, the U.N. will seek l punishment.