(3rd LD) Second nuke test by N. Korea would lead to `consequences`: Bosworth

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with Bosworth's meeting with S. Korean foreign minister)
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, May 8 (Yonhap) -- The senior U.S. nuclear envoy on Friday dismissed North
Korea's recent claim that the Obama administration is hostile towards Pyongyang,
saying Washington is continuing efforts for bilateral and multilateral dialogue
with the communist nation,
On a trip here highlighted by the North's renewed threats to bolster its nuclear
arsenal, Stephen Bosworth made clear that if North Korea puts its threats into
action, it will face "consequences."
"If the North Koreans decide to carry out a second nuclear test, we will deal
with the consequences of that, and there will be consequences," Bosworth told
reporters after talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan on ways to
resume the six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program. The negotiations also
involve China, Russia, and Japan.
Bosworth said he and the minister discussed "possible steps forward" in the
stalled denuclearization process but refused to elaborate.
He reaffirmed that Washington is willing to hold bilateral talks with Pyongyang
within the framework of the six-party talks.
"We are also prepared to deal with North Korea on a bilateral basis, but in a way
that reinforces the multilateral process," he said.
North Korea announced last month that it will abandon the six-year-old
disarmament negotiations in anger over the U.N. Security Council's condemnation
of its April 5 long-range rocket launch. Pyongyang has reactivated its
plutonium-producing reactor in Yongbyon. It even threatened to conduct a second
nuclear test and develop a uranium enrichment program unless the council issues
an apology.
North Korea detonated a nuclear device at an underground facility in 2006.
Earlier Friday, North Korea's foreign ministry said it would not talk with the
U.S. as there has been no policy change between the Obama government and its
predecessor.
"The study of the policy pursued by the Obama administration for the past 100
days since its emergence made it clear that the U.S. hostile policy toward the
DPRK (North Korea) remains unchanged," an unnamed ministry spokesman was quoted
as saying by the country's official news agency. The spokesman said the North
will strengthen its nuclear capability.
North Korea watchers have been already talking about an alternative to the
often-troubled six-way talks.
Bosworth, however, dismissed the possibility for now.
"The six-party process is at the heart of the effort to deal with the North
Korean nuclear issue," he said. "For the United States and I believe all of the
five parties, the door to dialogue is always open. It is in (North Korea's)
interest to continue dialogue and negotiation on a multilateral basis."
Bosworth will fly to Japan, the third stop of his nine-day tour of Northeast Asia
and Russia, on Monday after having "personal schedules" in Seoul on the weekend,
according to the U.S. Embassy here.
Bosworth said that he has no plans to visit North Korea during his ongoing trip,
which South Korean officials said is not aimed at producing an immediate
breakthrough but is instead intended to coordinate strategy.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)