Bosworth has no immediate plans to meet N. Korean officials: State Dept.

(ATTN: UPDATES with Bosworth's meeting with Russian officials in paras 4-6)
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, March 2 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. pointman on North Korea, Stephen
Bosworth, has no plans to meet with North Korean officials during his
three-nation Asian trip this week, the State Department said Monday.

"Not as far as I know," deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid said in a daily news
briefing. "That's what I know today."
Bosworth, special representative for North Korea, Monday embarked on a nine-day
trip to Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul to discuss resumption of the six-party talks,
stalled over North Korea's refusal to accept a protocol for verification of its
nuclear facilities.
He will fly into Beijing Tuesday and then go to Tokyo Thursday before wrapping up
his trip in Seoul, where he will stay for four days from Saturday.
In a separate statement, the State Department said that Bosworth will meet with
"senior Russian officials in Seoul Saturday in addition to senior Republic of
Korea (ROK) officials."
Russia is a member of the six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear
ambitions, along with the two Koreas, the U.S., China and Japan.
Last week, Bosworth did not rule out a meeting with North Korean officials while
in Asia, saying it depends on the North Koreans.
Bosworth's trip also comes as North Korea threatens to launch a communications
satellite into orbit, which South Korea and the U.S. see as a cover to launch a
long-range missile capable of reaching the continental U.S.
Duguid urged the North to refrain from launching the rocket.
"Any such launch would be a violation of existing U.N. Security Council
resolutions and would increase tensions unnecessarily," the spokesman said. "We
ask that the North Koreans consider that and not increase tensions in the Korean
Peninsula at this time."
He would not say if the U.S. would join the U.N. Security Council in punishing
the North for any such a missile launch.
"The U.N. Security Council will decide what happens when a resolution is
violated," he said. "We'll see what happens should there be a launch."
Bosworth last week met with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House to
discuss his upcoming trip to Asia "for consultation with our allies and partners
in the six-party talks to discuss the problem of North Korea's nuclear and
missile programs."
Sung Kim, special envoy for six-party talks, will accompany Bosworth to the Asian
tour.
Explaining his trip to Pyongyang as a private citizen in early February, 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 late last
month, the North Koreans reportedly expressed willingness to attend a fresh round
of the six-party talks.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)