Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Washington and Seoul are urging North Korea to resume six-party nuclear negotiations, promising in return a substantial package of humanitarian aid. This is what Barack Obama said his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak affirmed today, in a joint press conference at the conclusion of the U.S. president's diplomatic trip to Asia.  

Obama announced that Stephen Bosworth, Washington's special representative for North Korea, will visit Pyongyang on December 8 next for bilateral talks. The two leaders agreed on the proposal of the "great bargin" recently promoted by President Lee to dismantle the North Korean nuclear program in "one single step", abandoning the policy of "small steps", which has been without any concrete result so far.

Obama said that "opportunity and respect" are not achieved by "threats." If Pyongyang demonstrates its desire to cooperate, the two leaders agree, an offer consisting of a package of economic incentives and greater integration within the international community will follow.   "The door is open to resolve the issues," repeated the U.S. President, but "this will happen only if North Korea takes concrete steps" in the dismantling its nuclear stockpile and ending the current policy of provocative threats followed by a return to dialogue".  

Last April, Pyongyang abandoned six-party nuclear talks that include North Korea, South Korea, Russia, United States, Japan and China; in recent months it has alternated moments of détente with the South with threats of war and reprisals. The latest incident occurred Nov. 10: Two naval ships from Seoul and Pyongyang engaged in a gun battle in the Yellow Sea along the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the sea border west of the Korean peninsula, the centre of a decade long dispute between the two Koreas.

During the press conference today, Barack Obama and Lee Myung-bak have also addressed issues concerning the economy and the bilateral trade. The leaders confirmed their intention to promote the free trade agreement (FTA) signed two years ago, but that is still waiting to be ratified. Washington is asking for more concessions in the automobile sector, where the scales are tipped in favor of Seoul.