Bosworth to begin 3-nation Asian tour on 6-way talks: State Dept.

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (Yonhap) -- U.S. special representative for North Korea,
Stephen Bosworth, will embark on a three-nation Asian tour Monday to discuss
six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions, the State Department
said Saturday.
"Ambassador Bosworth will depart for the region on March 2 and plans to return on
March 10," the department said in a statement. "He will visit Beijing, Tokyo and
Seoul to consult with senior officials about issues related to the North Korea
nuclear issue."
The U.S. pointman on North Korea "will also consult with Russian officials who
will travel separately to the region," the statement said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially introduced Bosworth as U.S.
special envoy for North Korea at a news conference Friday.
Later that day, Bosworth met with President Barack Obama to discuss his upcoming
travel to Asia.
After the meeting, the White House issued a statement to say that "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."
Bosworth, former ambassador to South Korea, is a "senior emissary" who reports
directly to Obama and Hillary, passing through the assistant secretary of state
for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
Kurt Campbell, head of the Center for a New American Security, a private think
tank, has reportedly been tapped as the replacement for Christopher Hill, the
assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific Affairs who has been named
as ambassador to Iraq. Campbell is former deputy assistant secretary of defense.
Clinton said Friday that Bosworth will lead "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."
Sung Kim, special envoy for six-party talks, will accompany Bosworth to Seoul,
Tokyo and Beijing.
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.
Kim had been for years deputy to Hill, who doubled as head of the U.S. delegation
to the six-party talks.
The latest round of the on-and-off talks, which began in 2003, were stalled again
in December as North Korea refused to agree to a verification protocol for its
nuclear facilities.
Bosworth is 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
Friday 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
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