Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, China hold phone talks on stalled N.K. dialogue

SEOUL, Sept. 10 (Yonhap) -- The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and China spoke over the phone Thursday to discuss joint efforts to resume the stalled denuclearization talks with North Korea, the foreign ministry said.

In the phone talks, Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korea Peninsula peace and security affairs, explained to his Chinese counterpart, Luo Zhaohui, Seoul's efforts to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table, the ministry said in a release.

Luo reaffirmed Beijing's commitment to cooperate in advancing the peace process.

"The two sides agreed to continue consultations on ways to resume dialogue with North Korea through various means, including meeting in person at an earliest date possible," the ministry said.

Nuclear talks between the U.S. and North Korea remain at an impasse after their second summit in Hanoi early last year collapsed without a deal. They were far apart over how far Pyongyang should denuclearize in order for Washington to give concessions.

Seoul's push for expanding inter-Korean cooperation has made little progress amid the deadlock in the nuclear talks.

Last week, Lee also spoke to his U.S. and Japanese counterparts to discuss North Korea issues.

elly@yna.co.kr
(END)