(2nd LD) Envoy says U.S. to talk with N. Korea only in 6-party framework

(2nd LD) Envoy says U.S. to talk with N. Korea only in 6-party framework
(ATTN: MODIFIES headline, lead, UPDATES with minor edits)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. special envoy on North Korea said Sunday that
Washington will talk with North Korea only within the six-party framework,
reiterating the U.S.'s firm stance over Pyongyang's call for bilateral dialogue.

Stephen Bosworth also said North Korea's claim to be furthering its uranium
enrichment program is "a subject of concern" but added such a statement is
nothing new.
"We are prepared to engage bilaterally as well with the North Koreans but only
within the context of six-party talks," Bosworth said in Seoul after three-day
consultations with South Korean officials.
Just hours before Bosworth's arrival in Seoul on Friday, North Korea renewed its
nuclear warning, saying its uranium enrichment program, a second route to
building nuclear weapons alongside a plutonium-based one, has entered into
"completion phase." The North also said it was weaponizing plutonium obtained
from reprocessing spent fuel rods.
"Any indication of the nuclear program on the part of North Korea whether it's
HEU (highly enriched uranium) or anything else is a subject of concern, and one
which we have to address," Bosworth said.
But Friday's North Korean statement "is not the first we've heard of HEU and may
not be the last," he added.
Despite North Korea's recent conciliatory gestures toward the international
community, the U.S. sees no fundamental change in the prolonged stalemate over
the North's nuclear drive, Bosworth said. Over a month's period in August, North
Korea freed detained American and South Korean citizens, lifted inter-Korean
traffic restrictions and restored sagging joint business ventures.
"No, I don't think there's been any fundamental change," Bosworth said.
"We are very gratified that young American journalists have been released," he
said, "But our primary interest remains the denuclearization of the Korean
Peninsula, and we continue to (support) opportunities to reinitiate this
process."
Bosworth said he was "very pleased with the level of coordination" with South
Korean partners, including Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and chief nuclear envoy
Wi Sung-lac, with whom he held talks during his three-day visit.
"We are also agreed that because of the nature of this issue, and the regional
implications and its global implications, this is a problem that requires
multilateral solutions," he said.
Bosworth came here on the second leg of his three-nation Asian tour that began in
Beijing and will take him to Tokyo later in the day. His primary task is
discussing ways to resume the six-party talks and the implementation of U.N.
Security Council Resolution 1874 imposed after North Korea's nuclear test in May.
The six-party talks, which were last held in December, involve the two Koreas,
the U.S., China, Japan and Russia.
Diplomatic sources said Bosworth would also discuss preconditions for his visit
to the North, anticipating that such a visit would come later this year. In
Japan, he is likely to get acquainted with incoming Japanese government officials
who will deal with North Korea.
Before leaving Beijing for Seoul on Friday, Bosworth said he has "no plans at the
moment" to visit North Korea during this trip, but he confirmed that Pyongyang
had extended an invitation to him.
North Korea said, "We are prepared for both dialogue and sanctions."
Sung Kim, the U.S. chief envoy to the six-party talks who is currently
accompanying Bosworth, will return to Seoul next week to hold talks with Grigory
Logvinov, Russia's deputy envoy to the multilateral forum, Bosworth said.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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