韩国欢迎有关北韩领导人金正日表示他愿意推动去除核武器的六方会谈的报导。金正日上星期末对到访的中国特使王家瑞说，平壤致力于朝鲜半岛的去核化，并表示他愿意推动国际核谈判。
在中国官方的新华社报导这一评论之前的几个月中，外界一直在猜测不公开露面的金正日的健康状况。韩国国土统一部发言人说，这个谈话是一个积极的进展。他还敦促北韩恢复与韩国的对话，帮助缓解朝鲜半岛的紧张局势。
自从一场持续3年的战争于1953年停火以来，韩国和北韩一直被世界上戒备最森严的边界之一分隔。
South Korea has welcomed reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il says he is willing to push ahead with six-nation nuclear disarmament talks. Late last week, Mr. Kim told visiting Chinese envoy Wang Jiarui that Pyongyang is committed to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and that he wants to move international nuclear talks forward.
The comments, which were carried by China’s official Xinhua news agency, came after months of speculation about the health of North Korea’s reclusive leader. A spokesman for South Korea’s Unification Ministry (Kim Ho-nyeon) said the remarks are a positive development. He also urged the North to resume dialogue with the South to help defuse tensions on the peninsula.
The two Koreas have been separated by one of the world’s most heavily armed borders since a three-year war ended in a truce in 1953.