New York

11 December 2006

Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the Korean Peninsula

The Secretary-General welcomes the announced resumption on 18 December 2006 of the six-party talks aimed at achieving a non-nuclear Korean peninsula.

He hopes that the participants in the talks will use this opportunity to make meaningful progress towards implementing their Joint Statement of 19 September 2005. The United Nations Secretariat will remain steadfast in its support for this multilateral diplomatic approach.