S Korea gov't not against U.S.-DPRK dialogue intended to restart six-party talks

SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Seoul is not against a bilateral meeting between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) if it is to pursue restarting the six-party talks on denuclearization of the nation, the South Korean government said Monday.

"We are not against bilateral talks between the U.S. and North Korea (the DPRK), if they do not replace the six-party talks and are intended to speed up the process," Moon Tae-young, spokesperson with Seoul's foreign ministry, said at a press briefing.

Hinting at a "joint recognition" between South Korean and the U.S. on the need to resume the six-party talks, the spokesperson also said the two countries held a consensus that U.N. sanctions imposed on the country should also be maintained.

Last week the U.S. announced that it will soon push for a bilateral meeting with the DPRK in a bid to bring it back to the stalled six-party talks.

Pyongyang left the talks in protest of the U.N. criticizing the country of conducting nuclear, as well as space development, programs.

The DPRK has recently reached out to the U.S. to hold a bilateral meeting, while the U.S. insisted on the country coming back to the six-party negotiation table.