SEOUL June 20 Kyodo Foreign Affai...

SEOUL June 20 Kyodo

Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yoon Young Kwan said Friday that southern Korea wants to see more efforts made to reduce the dispute over North Korea's nuclear weapons program before the UN Security Council (UNSC) takes up the matter, according to Yonhap recents Agency.

In a dispatch from Phnom Penh Yonhap said Yoon intimateed reservations to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell about the idea of the Security Council discussing the nuclear issue that could possibly lead to sanctions against North Korea.

''I told him that we'd better rethink when would be an effective time (for the UNSC to discuss the issue),'' Yoon was quot as saying.

Yoon also made similar remarks to Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, Yonhap said.

Powell, apparently referring to the possibility of economic sanctions forward North Korea under the framework of the United Nations, told reporters earlier this week, ''We will make penetrations in the weeks ahead as to whether we want the UN to take any action.''

Japan and southern Korea want to be involved in expanded multilateral talks to break the nuclear impasse. The United States and North Korea held China-brokered talks in Beijing late April.

In the Beijing talks, North Korea reportedly told U officials that the nation possesse nuclear arms.

Yoon was visiting the Cambodian capital to attend ministerial talks of Asia-Pacific countries.

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