By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

North Korea has ``no reason to hold even a single nuclear bomb’’ if the United States treats it in a friendly manner, the North’s chief delegate to the 15th round of inter-Korean ministerial talks said Wednesday.

North Korea also asked for additional food assistance on a humanitarian basis while expressing gratitude for the earlier shipments of rice and fertilizer aid.

Senior Cabinet Councilor Kwon Ho-ung, who represents the North at the meeting in Seoul, reaffirmed that the principle of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula is still valid, Kim Chun-sig, spokesman for the South’s delegation, said in a media briefing.

Kwon’s remarks were reminiscent of those made by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who held talks with South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young in Pyongyang last Friday. Chung now heads the South Korean delegation to the ongoing inter-Korean talks.

Kim’s rare meeting with the South Korean envoy brightened prospects for a resumption of the six-party talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program, which have stalled for nearly a year, as Kim indicated that a new round of negotiations could be possible as early as next month.

``The nuclear issue is not only a matter of international concerns but also an inter-Korean problem,’’ Chung was quoted as telling the Northern delegates during yesterday’s meeting. ``We should discuss the issue and try to resolve it in this ministerial meeting.’’

South Korea has promised to offer an ``important proposal,’’ in which North Korea could earn various political and economic benefits in return for its nuclear dismantlement, once the North comes back to the negotiation table.

U.S. President George W. Bush also said after a summit with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun earlier this month that a ``more normal relationship’’ with North Korea would be possible besides security assurances and substantial economic aids that have so far been offered.

In the 110-minute main session, the two sides also discussed ways to ease military tension along their heavily fortified border and reinvigorate various reconciliation projects, such as temporary reunions of separated families split apart by the 1950-53 Korean War.

South Korean officials proposed the two Koreas hold a general-level military officers’ meeting next month as well as defense ministers’ talks to build mutual confidence. North Korea did not give an immediate response, according to a South Korean official familiar with the talks.

Seoul also proposed a Red Cross meeting in July to discuss ways to locate South Korean prisoners of war (POWs) and some civilian abductees believed to still be in the North. The North’s delegates listened ``attentively’’ to the POW and abduction issues, the official said.

The first main session of this week’s conference, which kicked off on Tuesday, was adjourned for informal sessions and a trip outside of Seoul. One or two more formal sessions are expected before the North Korean delegation returns home tomorrow.

``There has been a consensus to work out details to carry out what has been agreed upon during the Kim-Chung talks last Friday,’’ the South Korean official said, adding that positive consultations could be made in the remaining session.

In the meantime, officials in the presidential office said Roh would invite the North Korean delegates to Chong Wa Dae this afternoon, a schedule that was not publicized.

jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr