SKorea FM says imminent nuclear test unlikely

MANILA, Jan 11: South Korea's foreign minister said today he did not believe another North Korean nuclear test was imminent.

Song Min-soon said he had held intensive discussions with his Chinese counterpart at a summit in the Philippines on how to resume six-country talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.

''We talked about regional cooperation in security, particularly among South Korea, China and Japan,'' Song told reporters.

His meeting with Li Zhaoxing lasted for over an hour, more than twice its scheduled length.

Song said they had talked ''in depth about the North Korean nuclear issue and the way to resume the next round of talks''.

He declined to elaborate.

South Korean officials have said activity had been spotted near a suspected nuclear test site in North Korea but there was no evidence to suggest Pyongyang was about to test again. The North conducted its first test in October.

Song said talks between the United States and North Korea about a US crackdown on Pyongyang's finances were due to take place in the week of January 22. The North cited the curbs as its reason for boycotting the six-way discussions for more than a year.

Song was in the Philippines ahead of an East Asian summit on January 13-15 that will gather presidents and prime ministers from 16 countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand and 10 Southeast Asian states.

Leaders of China, Japan and South Korea will hold their first trilateral meeting at the summit since Shinzo Abe became Japan's prime minister and vowed to improve frosty ties with its two key neighbours.

REUTERS