N. Korea wants to continue denuclearization talks: U.S. expert

BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has signaled that it is willing to
continue with multilateral talks aimed at dismantling the country's nuclear
program, a former senior U.S. diplomat said Saturday after returning from a trip
to Pyongyang.

"We concluded that the outlook is that we can continue to work towards eventual
denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," Stephen Bosworth, former U.S.
ambassador to South Korea, told reporters in Beijing.
Bosworth and a group of non-government American experts on North Korea was
returning from a five-day visit to Pyongyang where they met with senior officials
in a civilian-exchange program between the U.S. and North Korea.
The former diplomat said following talks with senior North Korean officials that
he got the impression they wished to continue with the nuclear disarmament
process.
Bosworth also said that North Korean officials neither confirmed nor denied
recent reports the country is preparing for another missile test.
North Korea is believed to be moving to test-launch a long-range missile capable
of carrying a nuclear warhead, after intelligence agencies recently spotted a
train carrying a long cylinder-shaped object believed to be a Taepodong-2
missile.
"They said we should all wait and see. There were no threats, no indication that
they were concerned," he said, adding that the group plans to depart for Seoul on
Sunday.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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