Unification Minister Chung Dong-young says that the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue should be the sole objective of the upcoming six-way negotiations.

In an interview with the local Hankyoreh daily, Chung said the upcoming talks should focus on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and North Korea’s nuclear dismantlement.

He added that it would not be desirable to include the North’s human rights situation, mutual nuclear disarmament or kidnapping of Japanese nationals on the talks’ agenda.

Chung also said that Seoul’s offer to supply two million kilowatts of electricity to the North in the event it abandons its nuclear ambitions would cost South Korea around six-hundred-50 to eight-hundred billion won.

On Hyundai Asan’s request for state support in its tourism project for Mount Baekdu, Chung said it would be desirable for the project to be carried out at the private-level, but quickly added that the government would review ways for appropriate state involvement.

On an ongoing dispute over North Korean vessels’ violation of the inter-Korean maritime border, Chung said he believes the problem can be solved through inter-Korean military talks and consultations on maritime affairs.