South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak has offered North Korea a “grand bargain” - giving up its nuclear plans for aid and security guarantees.“This is the only way for North Korea to ensure its own survival,” Mr Lee said.
Separate meetings between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and foreign ministers from South Korea and Japan stressed the need for caution.
Last week China reported that North Korea was ready for a new dialogue.
Last chance
“We must have a comprehensive and integrated approach to fundamentally resolve the North Korea nuclear issue,” Mr Lee said at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
NUCLEAR CRISIS
- Oct 2006 - North Korea conducts an underground nuclear test
- Feb 2007 - North Korea agrees to close its main nuclear reactor in exchange for fuel aid
- June 2007 - North Korea shuts its main Yongbyon reactor
- June 2008 - North Korea makes its long-awaited declaration of nuclear assets
- Oct 2008 - The US removes North Korea from its list of countries which sponsor terrorism
- Dec 2008 - Pyongyang slows work to dismantle its nuclear programme after a US decision to suspend energy aid
- Jan 2009 - The North says it is scrapping all military and political deals with the South, accusing it of “hostile intent”
- April 2009 - Pyongyang launches a rocket carrying what it says is a communications satellite
- 25 May 2009 - North Korea conducts a second nuclear test
He criticised the approach of past six-nation talks on North Korea - between North and South Korea, the US, China, Japan and Russia - as doing little but rewarding the country’s bad behaviour.
“We compensated [the North Koreans] for agreeing to freeze their programme, and we compensated them for not keeping their promises,” Mr Lee said.
Analysts say that his comments will reinforce his image as a hardliner, reviled by the North.
But his proposal still follows the general outline of the 2007 six-nation agreement, under which North Korea would halt its nuclear programme in return for badly-needed oil and security guarantees.
Earlier this year North Korea pulled out of talks on implementing this agreement, in protest at international criticism over a series of rocket launches.
Caution
In recent weeks, however, North Korea has signalled a new openness to the possibility of resuming talks.
Speaking after Mrs Clinton’s talks with north Asian foreign ministers, the US envoy for the Koreas, Kurt Campbell, said the US currently favoured a cautious approach.
“The point that we tried to make was how careful we need to be at this juncture,” Mr Campbell said.
“What we’re trying to get is the North Koreans to make small, but fundamental steps so that we can at least take some early actions going forth,” he said.
He expressed hope for progress when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visits North Korea in October.
“We expect China to take a fairly clear line about their desire to see North Korea resume interactions as part of the six-party framework,” he said.