S.Korea's Moon says denuclearisation 'non-negotiable'

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday said denuclearisation of the peninsula remains a "basic and indispensable goal" after both Koreas held "historic" bilateral talks to alleviate tensions.

The denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula is the only way ahead towards peace, Moon said in his speech in Seoul.

This was, however, contradicted by the North's delegation, which said that it had no intention of discussing the development of its nuclear program with Seoul.

Moon's words came a day after both Koreas held their first meeting in two years, Efe news reported.

It resulted in an agreement to resume military talks and North Korean participation in the Winter Olympics to be held in February in the South Korean county of PyeongChang.

The South's delegation stressed the need for denuclearisation to guarantee peace and security on the peninsula.

Moon on Wednesday denied that the way of open dialogue with Pyongyang goes against the strategy of pressurising Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program.

"Now the dialogue with North Korea has begun, but because the North Korean nuclear issue has not been resolved, South Korea will continue to keep pace with the pressure and sanctions by the international community," he said.

Moon also said that "once the South-North Korean relations are improved, they can help resolve the North Korean nuclear issue".

He also denied that Seoul was planning to provisionally lift some of the sanctions that it approved against Pyongyang for its weapons programs in order to enable members of the regime - who were banned from entering the South - to participate in the PyeongChang Olympics.

"We have no plans to ease our unilateral sanctions against North Korea that are in place in addition to international sanctions for now," Moon said.

He argued that the policy of pressurising and sanctions was aimed at bringing North Korea to the negotiating table.

Moon also conveyed the satisfaction expressed by the US administration of President Donald Trump at the resumption of talks between Seoul and Pyongyang.

He said that Tuesday's historic talks may have been the result of the US-led policy of sanctions and pressure, in a nod of approval to the Trump administration's tough strategy.

--IANS

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