By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit Seoul next week for consultations on resuming the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear programs, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday.

``Secretary Rice’s visit to Seoul is part of diplomatic efforts (to restart the six-party talks),’’ he said at a press briefing. ``It will be a good opportunity for us to have substantive consultation on ways to resume the talks.’’

Before coming to Seoul, Rice will visit China, Thailand and Japan. She will pay a visit to President Roh Moo-hyun and hold talks with Ban over dinner on July 12. The two will hold a joint press conference the following day, the ministry said.

``Pyongyang should meet the expectations of the global community and become a responsible member of it as North Korea’s leader has expressed willingness to return to the six-party talks in July,’’ Ban said.

Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s leader, said last month that his country could come to the negotiation table in July if Washington respects the communist regime.

``If the talks resume, participants will discuss measures on combining our `important proposal’ and the solutions the U.S. offered to Pyongyang in June last year to solve North Korea’s nuclear issue,’’ Ban said.

The ``important proposal’’ was delivered by Unification Minister Chung Dong-young to Kim when he visited Pyongyang last month. ``I think North Korea is currently studying our proposal,’’ Ban said.

Government officials are tight-lipped on details of the proposal. But many experts believe that it is related to a large-scale economic assistance program for the hunger-stricken country.

Last week, North Korea sent its deputy chief nuclear negotiator, Ri Gun, to a seminar in New York that was attended by his U.S. counterpart, Joseph E. DeTrani.

Ri demanded the U.S. provide North Korea with a reason to justify Pyongyang’s return to the negotiation table. Ban said he doesn’t think of it as an additional demand.

``I think it is a request for Washington’s full explanation on its past reference to Pyongyang,’’ Ban said. The U.S. called North Korea an outpost of tyranny.

Meanwhile, Cho Tae-yong, deputy chief of Seoul’s negotiating team for the disarmament talks, arrived in Washington on Wednesday for talks on resuming negotiations with North Korea, the ministry said.

He was scheduled to meet Washington’s top negotiator, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, and his deputy, DeTrani.

China hosted three rounds of inconclusive talks in which the U.S., Japan and Russia also participated. But North Korea has boycotted the talks since June last year, citing Washington’s ``hostile’’ policies.

im@koreatimes.co.kr