Inter-Korean Contact

[Anchor Lead]

It's been confirmed that South and North Korean representatives made contact in Switzerland last month in the wake of North Korea's sixth nuclear test. A North Korean foreign ministry official is currently visiting Moscow to attend the Moscow Nonproliferation Conference opening Thursday. Attention now turns to potential future contacts between South and North Korea.

[Pkg]

In Beijing on September 15th, Choe Kang-il, deputy director general for North American affairs at North Korea's foreign ministry, justified his country's launch of the Hwasong-12 missile conducted that morning.

[Soundbite] Choe Kang-il (Deputy Director General for North American affairs at N. Korea's Foreign Ministry)

He was returning home from a security conference in Switzerland that had run for three days from September 11th. The conference was attended by former and incumbent officials of the U.S., China, Japan and Russia. South Korea also sent a deputy director general-level foreign ministry official and a scholar to the Swiss conference. Seoul initially considered sending a director-level official but is known to have lowered the rank believing that it's not the time for dialogue following Pyongyang's 6th nuclear test carried out just a week prior. A diplomatic source said that during the inter-Korean contact, the North Korean delegation made it clear the North will not return to dialogue unless the U.S. ends its hostile policies. The North also claimed that ending hostilities should be demonstrated not through words but through action by stopping all joint military exercises with South Korea and lifting sanctions. The North said it's not interested in inter-Korean dialogue because there won't be any progress if blocked by the U.S. The North also said it was not startled by the newly adopted UN Resolution 2375 adding that it will act in a way that corresponds to the sanctions. Pyongyang also threatened China saying that Beijing should know that taking part in U.S. sanctions will eventually return as a blade on itself. Meanwhile, Choe Son-hui, director-general of the North American affairs bureau at the North's foreign ministry, will attend the Moscow Nonproliferation Conference starting Thursday. South Korea is also considering sending a director-level official to the Moscow gathering which raises speculation on a possible inter-Korean meeting.