By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter


The six-party talks, set to resume early next month, could take a recess to avoid an overlap with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Seoul’s new ambassador to Washington, Lee Tae-sik, said on Thursday.

``We are examining the possibility of calling a recess of the talks because it could overlap with the APEC summit if the denuclearization talks are protracted,’’ he said at a meeting with South Korean correspondents just after arriving in Washington.

Lee, however, underlined that the six-party talks should be resumed as promised to keep their momentum alive.

The two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan agreed on Sept. 19 to hold the fifth round of the talks in Beijing in early November at a date to be determined through consultations.

The APEC summit, which will be attended by 21 heads of state, is scheduled to take place in Pusan, South Korea, on Nov. 18-19.

Answering to questions on the chances of hitting a breakthrough in the next round of the six-party talks, which will negotiate the sequence of North Korea’s scrapping of its nuclear programs and the corresponding rewards, Lee said, ``It would be difficult to draw the roadmap in a short period as they have to negotiate a very difficult issue this time.’’

On Sept. 19, the six countries adopted a joint statement of principles focusing on the North’s commitment to abandon all of its nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs. In return, the five other participants promised to give Pyongyang energy aid, security guarantees and chances to enhance diplomatic relations, among other things. But a critical question about which side will take action first still remains unsolved.

South Korea’s top delegate to the six-party talks, Song Min-soon, will visit Washington on Saturday to coordinate strategies with his U.S. counterpart, Christopher Hill.

Answering questions on a controversy in South Korea over the statue of General Douglas MacArthur, Lee said it is not proper to generalize the public sentiment by magnifying a single issue.

``It would be inappropriate to say that there is something wrong in South Korea-U.S. relations after just hearing one segment among multiple numbers of different voices in our society,’’ he said.

South Korea has recently been mired in a hot debate over whether it is necessary to preserve the statue of the American commander who led the famous Inchon landing during the 1950-53 Korean War and apparently reversed the war situation in the South’s favor.

``There is no change in our government’s perception that Gen. MacArthur contributed to protecting freedom and peace in South Korea,’’ Lee said.

The new ambassador also mentioned a South Korean sociology professor’s controversial remarks on the Korean War. ``I think it was inappropriate for the professor to say that,’’ Lee said. ``It is his own opinion, with which our government does not agree.’’

Kang Jeong-koo, 60, said the Korean War should be regarded as a ``war for unification,’’ catering into North Korea’s propaganda. His remarks in a column on an Internet news media website in July triggered immediate protests from conservative groups calling for his punishment on charges of violating the National Security Law.

im@koreatimes.co.kr