S Korea to continue implementing U.N. sanctions on DPRK: FM

SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said Thursday his country will continue to implement international sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Addressing a foreign affairs committee meeting at the parliament, Yu said Seoul will not lift the sanctions imposed by the United Nations (UN) on Pyongyang after it tested long-range rockets in April and a nuclear bomb in May, unless Pyongyang "takes concrete steps to dismantle its nuclear program."

Meanwhile, Yu said the United States is expected to make the final decision soon on the bilateral talks with the DPRK within the six-party framework.

The minister said Washington carried out a series of consultations with other five partners in the international nuclear disarmament forum, and all of them believed that the six-party system "remains useful".

However, they agreed that Washington can talk bilaterally with Pyongyang ahead of the six-party negotiations if it is helpful to restarting the six-party process.

"We expect that the U.S. will decide on the bilateral talks based on the results of consultations among the five remaining parties," the minister said.

The U.S. government recently said it was open to bilateral talks with DPRK officials, but only in the context of the six-party talks process, which had involved the DPRK, the United States, China, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Russia since 2003.

Washington insists that the six-party talks are the most effective way to achieve the settlement of nuclear issues in the Korean Peninsula.