South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung Hwan on Saturday met briefly with his North Korean counterpart, Pak Ui Chun, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.
The meeting came a day after the chief nuclear envoys from the two countries met for the first time since 2008 and agreed to try to resume six-party talks also involving China, Japan, the United States and Russia on ending the North’s nuclear programme.
The six-party talks have been stalled since December 2008.
Saturday’s encounter took place on the Indonesian resort island of Bali before the start of the ASEAN Regional Forum, the Asia-Pacific’s largest security gathering, Yonhap said, quoting an unnamed South Korean official.
The meeting was the first between foreign ministers of the two Koreas since July 2008.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday welcomed latest talks between the Koreas but urged North Korea to show a genuine commitment to nuclear disarmament and improve ties with the South before the six-party talks could restart.
“We remain firm that in order for six-party talks to resume, North Korea must take steps to improve North-South relations,” Ms. Clinton told the regional forum.
She urged “North Korea to demonstrate a change in behaviour, including ceasing provocative actions, taking steps toward irreversible denuclearization and complying with its commitments.”
