ID :
48152
Sat, 02/28/2009 - 07:48
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/48152
The shortlink copeid
Bosworth meets Obama to discuss N. Korea's denuclearization: White House
WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- The newly appointed U.S. pointman on North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, has met with President Barack Obama to discuss his upcoming travel to South Korea and other Asian countries on North Korea's denuclearization, the White House said Friday.
Bosworth visited the White House Thursday, soon after a news conference at which
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially introduced him as special
representative for North Korea and announced his planned trip to Asia early next
week.
"President Obama met yesterday with Ambassador Stephen Bosworth, the newly
appointed special representative for North Korea policy," the White House said in
a statement. "At the president's and secretary of state's request, Ambassador
Bosworth will travel next week for consultation with our allies and partners in
the six-party talks to discuss the problem of North Korea's nuclear and missile
programs."
While introducing Bosworth Thursday, Clinton said that the special representative
will report directly to her and President Obama as a "senior emissary" who leads
"our efforts to address the full range of concerns with respect to North Korea,
including its nuclear ambition and its proliferation of sensitive weapons
technology, as well as its human-rights and humanitarian problems."
She also expressed hope that Bosworth "will facilitate high-level engagement with
North Korea and our other partners, and enhance our efforts to move forward in
the six-party process and to realize our goal of the complete and verifiable
denuclearization of the Korean peninsula in a peaceful manner."
Special envoy Sung Kim has been promoted to lead the U.S. delegation to the talks
on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions, with Bosworth seeking higher-level
contacts for a breakthrough in the difficult negotiations. North Korea's
delegation is led by Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan.
Sung Kim for years had been deputy to Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of
state for East Asia and the Pacific and concurrently head of the U.S. delegation
to the six-party talks.
The latest round of the talks, which began in 2003, were stalled again in
December as North Korea refused to agree to a verification protocol for its
nuclear facilities.
North Korea has been refusing to discuss its missile program and human rights
records under the framework of the six-party talks.
Bosworth is, therefore, expected to seek a comprehensive approach to North Korea
at higher-levels, just as the Bill Clinton administration did a decade ago to put
an end to the North's nuclear and missile programs in a package.
Clinton sent Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to Pyongyang and pledged to
visit the North's capital himself, although he did not do that, citing a lack of
time in his waning months in late 2000. The former president recently said he
regretted that.
Explaining his recent trip to Pyongyang as a private citizen, Bosworth said
Thursday that North Korea was "quite inclined toward continued dialogue with the
United States and a continued commitment with the people of the region in the
six-party talks."
While receiving Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei in Pyongyang last week,
the North Koreans reportedly expressed willingness to attend a fresh round of the
six-party talks.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
Bosworth visited the White House Thursday, soon after a news conference at which
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially introduced him as special
representative for North Korea and announced his planned trip to Asia early next
week.
"President Obama met yesterday with Ambassador Stephen Bosworth, the newly
appointed special representative for North Korea policy," the White House said in
a statement. "At the president's and secretary of state's request, Ambassador
Bosworth will travel next week for consultation with our allies and partners in
the six-party talks to discuss the problem of North Korea's nuclear and missile
programs."
While introducing Bosworth Thursday, Clinton said that the special representative
will report directly to her and President Obama as a "senior emissary" who leads
"our efforts to address the full range of concerns with respect to North Korea,
including its nuclear ambition and its proliferation of sensitive weapons
technology, as well as its human-rights and humanitarian problems."
She also expressed hope that Bosworth "will facilitate high-level engagement with
North Korea and our other partners, and enhance our efforts to move forward in
the six-party process and to realize our goal of the complete and verifiable
denuclearization of the Korean peninsula in a peaceful manner."
Special envoy Sung Kim has been promoted to lead the U.S. delegation to the talks
on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions, with Bosworth seeking higher-level
contacts for a breakthrough in the difficult negotiations. North Korea's
delegation is led by Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan.
Sung Kim for years had been deputy to Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of
state for East Asia and the Pacific and concurrently head of the U.S. delegation
to the six-party talks.
The latest round of the talks, which began in 2003, were stalled again in
December as North Korea refused to agree to a verification protocol for its
nuclear facilities.
North Korea has been refusing to discuss its missile program and human rights
records under the framework of the six-party talks.
Bosworth is, therefore, expected to seek a comprehensive approach to North Korea
at higher-levels, just as the Bill Clinton administration did a decade ago to put
an end to the North's nuclear and missile programs in a package.
Clinton sent Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to Pyongyang and pledged to
visit the North's capital himself, although he did not do that, citing a lack of
time in his waning months in late 2000. The former president recently said he
regretted that.
Explaining his recent trip to Pyongyang as a private citizen, Bosworth said
Thursday that North Korea was "quite inclined toward continued dialogue with the
United States and a continued commitment with the people of the region in the
six-party talks."
While receiving Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei in Pyongyang last week,
the North Koreans reportedly expressed willingness to attend a fresh round of the
six-party talks.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)