Chinese envoy due in Pyongyang for resumption of nuclear talks: source

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Yonhap) -- China's top nuclear negotiator is expected to head to
North Korea later Monday as part of Beijing's efforts to restart six-way talks on
Pyongyang's nuclear program, a diplomatic source said.
"Chances are high that Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei will fly into Pyongyang on
a Air China flight that departs (Beijing) at 5:20 p.m.," the source said.
His trip is aimed at tempting North Koreans to reverse their months-long refusal
to join the six-party talks also involving South Korea, the U.S., Russia and
Japan, added the source.
Neither the Chinese nor North Korean authorities have announced Wu's trip plan
yet. North Korea watchers say the two sides are likely to stay silent on Wu's
trip until it ends, in line with their diplomatic practices.
South Korean government officials refused to confirm Wu's schedule.
China, chair of the nuclear talks and the closest ally of the North, has come
under heavy pressure to broker a breakthrough in the deadlocked denuclearization
process.
Wu's trip, if made, comes amid growing speculation that North Korea may be
finally trying to break its diplomatic isolation that has deepened since its
long-range rocket launch in May and a second nuclear test the following month.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il met former U.S. President Bill Clinton in
Pyongyang early this month and accepted Washington's offer of an amnesty for two
American reporters who had been detained there since March.
North Korea also freed a South Korean worker at the inter-Korean industrial park
in Kaesong last week after months of captivity.
Earlier Monday, the North's state media reported a set of initial measures to
normalize cross-border tours and the reunion of separated families. The
announcement came shortly after a meeting between Kim and Hyundai Group
chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun, who is on a trip to the North Korean capital.
Meanwhile, the Chinese envoy Wu made a tour of Russia, the U.S., Japan, and South
Korea in July to seek ways to jump-start the six-way talks.
Wu reportedly made his latest visit to North Korea in February to dissuade North
Koreans from firing a long-range rocket. But the North went ahead with a launch.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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