Koreas Agree To Defuse Nuke Crisis

South and North Korea agreed early Friday to peacefully resolve the international standoff over North Korea's nuclear programs, according to a joint declaration released after Cabinet-level talks.

But South Korea acknowledged it had not been able to draw any compromises from the North over its nuclear programs during the two days of talks in Seoul.

In the joint declaration, the two sides said they had "sufficiently exchanged" positions on the nuclear issue and "agreed to actively cooperate to resolve this issue peacefully."

They agreed to hold the next round of inter-Korean ministerial talks April 7-10 in Pyongyang and another round of inter-Korean economic talks Feb. 11-14 in Seoul.

Both sides also pledged to work toward reconciliation on the Korean peninsula, which has been divided since 1945.

In a separate statement, the South Korean negotiators said they had been unable to win any compromises from the North. The South had been pressing the North to state specific steps for settling the international standoff peacefully.

"Although we have not been able to draw out a more progressive position on North Korea's nuclear issue, we have sufficiently delivered our and the international community's concern on the nuclear issue," the negotiators said.

The South Korean side also said it would work with Japan and the United States to resolve the issue peacefully and encourage North Korea to abide by its international obligations.

This week's Cabinet-level meetings in Seoul were the first in months between the two Koreas, and South Korea promised to make them a forum for insisting North Korea scrap nuclear programs that could make weapons.

The ongoing Cabinet-level meetings have been seen as a chance for South Korea to broker a solution. But North Korea has repeatedly said it will only deal directly with the United States.

At a dinner break late Thursday, South Korean delegation head Jeong Se-hyun urged the North to make a clear statement on the nuclear impasse.

"We must completely remove the security concerns which have been formed on the Korean Peninsula recently," Jeong said.

North Korean delegation leader Kim Ryong Song agreed it was vital to "prevent the danger of war on the Korean Peninsula and preserve the safety of the nation."