N. Korea Will Attend Talks on Formal Treaty
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NEW YORK — In a breakthrough that could ease tensions between the two Koreas, North Korea agreed Friday to attend a conference aimed at bringing lasting peace to their heavily armed peninsula.
The talks--set to begin Dec. 9 in Geneva among the United States, China, and North and South Korea--will focus on replacing the 1953 armistice that ended fighting in the Korean War.
No treaty was signed, and the rival Korean states remain technically at war. Their shared border is the world’s most heavily guarded, with nearly 2 million troops in the region.
“There’s a lot of hard work ahead, but this is an important first step,” President Clinton said in Washington.
North Korea had demanded a specific agenda leading to the removal of 37,000 U.S. troops in South Korea--the main stumbling block during previous rounds of negotiations in New York in August and September.
But White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said the issue of a U.S. withdrawal will not be a focus of the Geneva talks.
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