Britain willing role in N. Korean denuclearisation process: Envoy

The UK is willing to provide its expert knowledge in nuclear nonproliferation and power generation to assist in the process of denuclearising North Korea, its new envoy to Seoul said on Wednesday.

"I think at this stage, we recognise that major next steps (for North Korean denuclearisation) are already on the calendar," Ambassador Simon Smith said in a presser, referring to the progress made in the North-South and the US diplomacy, Yonhap news agency reported.

"We may have experiences to offer and political support as a permanent member of the UN Security Council for the implementation and enforcement of (a deal)," according to the ambassador. "We certainly plan to play a constructive role."

President Moon Jae-in and his US counter Donald Trump agreed to hold summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to discuss its denuclearisation.

"We see this as a real, genuine opportunity. We are extremely admiring the efforts that South Korea has made to take the opportunity presented by the hosting of the PyeongChang Olympics and Paralympics and to build on them in a way that set up the summits," he said.

The UK is looking forward "with great seriousness and interest" to the summits and with its experiences in nuclear power generation and non-proliferation, as well as in the field of the management of all aspects of nuclear security, the UK will hopefully "be able to bring them to the process" to denuclearise the North, he said.

--IANS

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