President Roh Moo-hyun held talks with European Union leaders Saturday and sought to dispel international concerns of Seoul's disputed past nuclear activities.
Right on the heels of the closing of the Asia-Europe meeting, Roh met with Jean-Claude Juncker, prime minister of Luxembourg, who holds the rotating EU presidency and European Commission President Romano Prodi and assured Seoul's firm commitment to nonproliferation.
Mr. Roh elaborated on the four pledges regarding the peaceful use of atomic power, which the Seoul government first proclaimed last month.
The EU leaders said they would "take note of South Korea's position" and positively assessed Seoul's unsparing cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, from which two separate inspection teams had been dispatched to Seoul with a third one pending soon.
After the meeting, the two sides issued a joint statement calling for an early resumption of six-way talks aimed to resolve Pyongyang's two-year old nuclear impasse.
Roh pressed the international community for support, stressing that bringing the communist North on the path of reform and open-door policy is the most urgent issue.