U.S. pointman on N. Korea due in Asia as Pyongyang makes overtures

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Yonhap) -- Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. special representative for
North Korea policy, plans to visit Northeast Asia early next month to seek ways
to resume talks with the communist nation, buoyed by Pyongyang's efforts to reach
out to Washington, according to a diplomatic source here Thursday.

"Amb. Bosworth is scheduled to visit South Korea and other countries in early
September," the source said. "The exact schedule has yet to be worked out through
consultations with the U.S."
It is uncertain whether he will travel to the North this time, added the source.
Both North Korea and the U.S. have hinted at a willingness for dialogue after
months of confrontation marked by the North's missile and nuclear tests and
U.S.-led sanctions in response.
One sticking point, however, is the format of the talks. North Korea wants
one-on-one negotiations with the U.S., which remains firm in its position that
the North should return to the six-way nuclear talks also joined by South Korea,
China, Russia, and Japan.
North Korea again conveyed its desire for bilateral talks to New Mexico Governor
and former U.N. envoy Bill Richardson, who retains personal ties with North
Koreans and has often delivered Pyongyang's messages to Washington.
In a statement issued after a meeting with North Korean diplomats to its U.N.
mission, Richardson said they "indicated that North Korea is ready for a new
dialogue with the United States regarding the nuclear issue."
"The question is whether to proceed with face-to-face bilateral talks, as the
North Koreans prefer, or to utilize the six-party framework that the United
States has advocated. The North Koreans clearly want bilateral talks and not the
six-party framework," he added.
South Korean officials said the Obama administration is unlikely to accept
bilateral talks outside the six-way framework.
"I don't think there will be an immediate breakthrough, as the U.S. will not
easily change its keynote stance of imposing U.N. sanctions," a senior South
Korean foreign ministry official said. "One possible scenario is that North Korea
will first express its willingness to rejoin the six-way talks, and the U.S. then
holds preliminary one-on-one dialogue with the North as the Bush administration
did."
It seems clear that the North is willing to talk with the U.S., he said, adding
Pyongyang's recent gestures toward Seoul may be aimed at ultimately engaging its
key ally, Washington.
The official was referring to North Korea's decision to reopen its
heavily-militarized border to South Korean tourists and resume long-suspended
reunions of families separated since the 1950-53 Korean War.
He pointed out that there is a consensus among all nations involved that they
need to keep up the mood created by former U.S. President Bill Clinton's trip to
the North to win the release of two American reporters early this month.
Clinton met Wednesday with President Barack Obama at the White House and gave a
detailed briefing of his three-hour meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, also the top nuclear negotiator for
Beijing which hosts the six-party talks, traveled to Pyongyang on Monday,
apparently in line with efforts to revive the multilateral talks.
South Korean officials said they have no information on whether Wu has already
ended his visit there.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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