S. Korea, U.S. nix resuming nuclear talks

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Top diplomats for South Korea and the United States said talks should resume only after North Korea shows it's serious about giving up its nuclear program.

The agreement reaffirmed that the two countries can't accept China's proposal to resume the so-called six-party negotiations involving the Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States in early December to discuss how to diffuse rising tensions following North Korea's artillery strike against a South Korean island that killed two marines and two civilians, the Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reached agreement on the issue during a security summit meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said.

Kim, Clinton and Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said they would meet soon to develop a unified response to North Korea's shelling of the island, Yonhap reported.

Kim also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during the summit to discuss the attack as well as South Korea-Russia relations, the ministry said. Kim said he appreciated Russia's criticism of North Korea's action and agreed to work closely with Russia on the matter.