Interfax's Interview

The South Korean national oil company is exploring for oil in western Kamchatka along with Rosneft, while the Korean national gas company signed an agreement on importing 1.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas under the Sakhalin-2 project.

South Korea hopes that a plan on the development of fields in Eastern Siberia will soon be adopted, the diplomat said.

Concerning bilateral trade and economic relations in general, the ambassador said that trade between the two countries has not approached the potential in the development of bilateral relations. Trade between the two countries amounted to $8 billion in 2005 and is forecast to reach $10 billion in 2006, he said.

The defense area is one promising area for cooperation, he said.

South Korea has a high opinion of Russian defense technologies, as well as Russian scientific technologies in general, he said, adding that Seoul is counting on strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries in that area.

The ambassador regards as excessive a military scenario for resolving the North Korean nuclear problem.

"Possible sanctions against North Korea are being debated but no military operation is foreseen. All interested parties are unanimous that an armed operation is undesirable," he said.

He said Seoul will adhere to the utmost to any UN Security Council resolution on North Korea.

The ambassador also voiced hope for the speedy return of North Korea to the six-nation talks which also involve South Korea, the United States, Russia, China and Japan.

"I find six-sided talks on the Korean nuclear program without North Korea unrealistic," he said.

However, he said that what is important for his country is multilateral efforts to settle the issue, not the format of the talks.

"We are interested in such efforts, not the format - five-sided, three-sided or any other," Kim said.

He recalled that North Korea has not renounced six-nation talks, so there is hope that Pyongyang will return to them.

South Korea calls on North Korea to abandon its nuclear program and to return to six-nation talks as soon as possible in order to fulfill obligations under the September 19, 2005 joint statement adopted within the framework of the six-sided talks, he said.

The ambassador said also that South Korea had no plans to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the near future.

South Korea hails Russia's efforts in the Asian-Pacific region, including within the SCO framework, he said, adding that Russia plays an active role in strengthening cooperation between the SCO member states.

The ambassador thanked Russia for backing the nomination of South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki-moon for UN secretary general.

Ban Ki-moon understands that the peace and security of the international community is paramount and he will contribute to the peaceful settlement of many international issues, as well as to strengthening the consent of the international community, the ambassador said. 

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