Talks between UNC and DPRK over S.Korean sunken warship postponed

Beijing, July 13 (ANI): Talks between the US led United Nations Command (UNC) in South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), scheduled on 13th July 2010, were postponed at the request of the DPRK.

According to Xinhua, UNC has issued a statement saying that DPRK military authorities requested a delay in the scheduled colonel-level meeting citing "administrative reasons," and a new meeting time was not immediately proposed.

The two sides had planned to hold a working-level meeting involving field-grade officials in the Demilitarized Zone of the truce village in Panmunjom to discuss the causes which led to the sinking of a South Korean warship 'The Cheonan'.

Last Friday, the DPRK accepted the command's proposal to hold military talks after South Korean authorities turned down Pyongyang's request to hold an inter-Korean discussion involving high-level military officials.

Earlier, the United Nations Security Council has passed a "presidential statement" condemning the sinking of the South Korean naval ship, which killed 46 seamen, and expressed its deep concern over the findings of the international report.

However, it avoided blaming North Korea directly for the incident.

The UNC and the DPRK have held 16 general-level talks since 1998, and the latest round was held in March 2009. (ANI)