Bosworth repeats pledge for bilateral dialogue with N. Korea

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, May 12 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's point man on North
Korea urged North Korea Tuesday to return to the six-party talks for its
denuclearization, saying Obama is also interested in engaging the North
bilaterally for a breakthrough.
"We are committed to dialogue, and we are obviously interested in returning to
the negotiating table as soon as we can, but this is not a decision that depends
on us. It also depends on the DPRK," Stephen W. Bosworth, Special Representative
for North Korea Policy, said, according to a transcript released by the State
Department. DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea.
Bosworth made the remarks in Tokyo while wrapping up his weeklong trip to Seoul,
Beijing and Tokyo to discuss ways to persuade the North to come back to the
multilateral nuclear talks that have been deadlocked since the U.N. Security
Council sanctioned three North Korean firms last month over Pyongyang's April 5
rocket launch.
The North has threatened to boycott the six-party talks, restart its nuclear
facilities and conduct further nuclear and ballistic missile tests unless the
Security Council apologizes for its condemnation of the launch.
North Korea insists the purpose of the launch was to put a satellite into orbit,
but the U.S. and its allies believe it was a cover for a ballistic missile test.
In its most recent threat, North Korea said last week it is useless to engage in
dialogue with the U.S. due to its "hostile policy" toward the North, and
reconfirmed its pledge to bolster its nuclear arsenal as a deterrent against a
possible attack from the U.S. and its allies.
Bosworth reiterated his pledge to concurrently seek bilateral dialogue with the
North.
"I think that it is clearly understood that the possibility of direct dialogue
between the U.S. and the DPRK is very much with us," he said. "That of course
would be done within the framework of the Six-Party process where there has been
direct contact frequently by various members of the group with North Korea."
He reiterated Obama's commitment to engage Pyongyang both bilaterally and through
the six-party talks.
"I operate under our President's instructions on an ongoing basis," he said. "So
he is very much committed, as you all know, to the notion of dialogue as a way of
resolving this problem. But he, of course, is eager to get back to the table as
soon as it's feasible."
Despite escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula amid the North's repeated
provocations, Bosworth said, "I think everyone is feeling relatively relaxed
about where we are at this point in the process. There is not a sense of crisis
... and now I think we are going to proceed with patience and perseverance."
He warned the North not to conduct another nuclear test.
"I very much hope that North Korea does not do another test," he said. "I think
it would be a step in the wrong direction. But, in the end, that is the decision
that only North Korea is going to be able to make, or will make."
Predictions vary over whether Pyongyang will actually detonate its second nuclear
device.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates dismissed on Monday the North's recent
threats as "rhetoric," but Gary Samore, U.S. President Barack Obama's policy
coordinator on the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, said last
week that he believes North Korea will conduct another nuclear test as it has
threatened to do.
Bosworth traveled to the Asian capitals twice since taking office in February as
the U.S. point man on North Korea. Pyongyang was not on either of his
itineraries.
In early March, North Korea rejected his proposal for a visit for unknown
reasons, and this time Bosworth did not request a visit.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently said that it "seems implausible
if not impossible" that North Korea will return to the six-party talks.
Some analysts say the North's recent move is an attempt to revive bilateral talks
with the U.S., which were discontinued after President George W. Bush's
inauguration in 2001.
The Bill Clinton administration sought high-level bilateral dialogue with the
North in his waning months in office with exchange visits by then U.S. Secretary
of State Madeleine Albright and North Korean Vice Marshal Jo Myong-rok to their
respective capitals. The visits came soon after the North's launch of its first
ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean,
Albright recently said, "Ultimately, I think that what the North Koreans want are
bilateral talks with the United States."
hdh@yna.co.kr
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