NORTH KOREA AND THE FIVE

FACTBOX: WHAT REGIONAL POWERS THINK ABOUT N.KOREA

Reuters, December 29, 2010

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said on Wednesday the nuclear crisis on the peninsula must be tackled by negotiation, but chances of international talks are slim because of a gulf between the parties involved, and a lack of pressure on an emboldened North Korea.

Lee, who has vowed a tough stance against any further attack by the North, also called for fresh dialogue between the rival Koreas, saying a hardline military policy alone by Seoul will not ease the tension.

Here are the positions of the countries involved in the so-called six-party negotiation process, which stalled in 2008 when Pyongyang walked out. It had already quit a global nuclear anti-arms pact in 2003.

SOUTH KOREA

South Korea's position has eased since May, when it announced tough steps in retaliation for the sinking of the navy corvette Cheonan, blamed on North Korea, by dropping an apology from the North as a precondition.

It still says the North must make it clear it is serious about dialogue to reduce tensions and eliminate its nuclear programme. Seoul is working on a proposal for the North with preconditions for resuming the talks, details are unclear.

One of the conditions is that North Korea open up its previously undisclosed uranium enrichment programme to strict international monitoring.

South Korea wants the six-party talks, if resumed, to address the enrichment work and a separate accord on its oversight.

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