Akhir 12, 1432 / March 17, 2011, SPA -- South Korea's foreign minister on Thursday rejected North Korea's offer to discuss its uranium enrichment programme at a new round of six-party talks, saying it fell far short of what was needed to restart the stalled process, as Reuters reported. A resumption of the six-way talks would be a key advance in international efforts to end the North's nuclear ambitions, but regional powers are wary of Pyongyang's sincerity, citing its past failure to abide by deals it signed before walking away from the process two years ago. The North has been calling for fresh talks since last year, driven according to analysts by increasingly tight economic conditions as sanctions cut deeply into its once lucrative arms trade. The North said on Tuesday that it was prepared to take part in a new round of talks "with no preconditions" and was willing to discuss the uranium enrichment issue. "That is far short of what is needed," Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan told a news briefing. "The North must show with action, not words, its sincerity about its commitment," he added.
