KL welcomes Pyongyang's return to negotiating table
Malaysiakini
Nov  3, 2006

Malaysia today welcomed North Korea's decision to resume negotiations with the international community on its nuclear programme and commended China for the role it played in the breakthrough.

"This is a positive and constructive development. We are very pleased with the announcement and we hope the talks will be carried out as soon as possible," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told reporters.

North Korea's decision to return to the talks came just over three weeks after it conducted its first nuclear test on Oct 9, prompting the United Nations Security Council to impose new sanctions against the reclusive state.

Since November 2005 North Korea has boycotted the six-party talks in protest over US sanctions on a Macau bank accused of laundering money for Pyongyang.

Six-party talks

The North confirmed on Wednesday it would return to negotiations on condition that the issue of lifting the US financial sanctions is settled during the talks.

"We are happy with the role that China has played in their efforts to encourage North Korea to resume negotiations," Syed Hamid said.

"This is a good development which can ease tensions which were seen emerging in the Korean Peninsula," he added.

The six-party talks between the United States, China, Japan, Russia and North and South Korea, which began in 2003 under Beijing's aegis, are aimed at convincing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programme in exchange for economic incentives and security guarantees.