Senior U.S. diplomat to embark on Asia tour this month: sources

SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) -- The deputy U.S. secretary of state is expected to
visit South Korea later this month as part of an Asia tour to consult with
regional partners over North Korea's nuclear stalemate, informed sources said
Wednesday.

James Steinberg will make his tour amid plans by Washington to hold direct
negotiations with Pyongyang as part of an effort to resuscitate six-nation talks
on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
Dates and other details have yet to be fixed, sources said.
The U.S. announced last week that it will soon undertake bilateral negotiations
with North Korea to persuade it to return to the suspended six-party talks, which
Pyongyang boycotted, claiming the forum was being used to infringe upon its
sovereign right to develop nuclear and space technology.
Pyongyang had demanded one-on-one dealings with Washington in seeking a
breakthrough, while Washington insisted on sticking to the six-party process that
also involves South Korea, China, Japan and Russia.
Steinberg previously visited Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing earlier this year to seek
ideas on how to deal with the recalcitrant North.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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