The Philippines remains hopeful but is carefully optimistic over recent reports that the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea has softened its stance on the issue of the format of talks aimed at addressing the issue of the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula.  The Philippines, together with other countries, have supported multi-party talks in resolving the pending issues on the Korean Peninsula.

“The recent statement of the DPRK on its flexibility on the format of talks is something that we can welcome with some careful optimism.  But we hope that this is not just part of their usual tactic of issuing positive statements to deflect or sidetrack growing international pressure,” Secretary Ople said.

Reports indicate that North Korea has seemingly softened its stance on the format of talks over ending its nuclear program, although the timing of further negotiations remains elusive.

North Korea's Foreign Affairs Minister So Chol said on CNN that if the nuclear issue is fundamentally solved, the DPRK would not be too bothered about the format of talks, about whether they be bilateral or multilateral talks.

But Secretary Ople was careful in discerning the true meaning of this recent pronouncement of the DPRK. “We welcome the candidness of the DPRK.  But it appears that they still want to address the nuclear aspects on a bilateral basis,” the Secretary said.

“The Philippines, together with other stakeholders in the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula, continue to believe that multilateral talks should be maintained.  We support the efforts of China and the US to hold discussions with the DPRK and hope that this will eventually widen to include Japan and the Republic of Korea,” the Secretary added. END.