N. Korean diplomat seeks to visit the U.S. this month

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Yonhap) -- A working-level North Korean diplomat is likely to
visit the United States later this month, raising speculation that formal
negotiations between the two sides are imminent, a diplomatic source here said
Friday.
Ri Gun, director general of the North American affairs bureau of North Korea's
Foreign Ministry, has been invited to the annual meeting of Northeast Asia
Cooperation Dialogue (NEACD) to be held in San Diego from Oct. 26-27, according
to the source.
"He plans to attend the forum but the U.S. has not issued a visa for him yet,"
the source said, asking not to be named.
If Ri attends the event, it will provide a rare chance for North Korean and U.S.
officials to have face-to-face meeting.
The NEACD, organized by the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation at the
University of California, brings together academics, diplomats, and military
officials from the U.S., China, Russia, Japan, and the two Koreas, all of which
are the members of the six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program, for
discussions on regional security and ways to establish a peace regime on the
Korean Peninsula.
Ri's trip to the U.S., if made, will be closely monitored by international media,
which expect North Korea and the U.S. to resume bilateral talks in the coming
weeks.
The North asked Stephen Bosworth, special representative for North Korea policy,
and Sung Kim, special envoy on the six-party talks, to visit Pyongyang for
negotiations on its nuclear program.
The U.S. has expressed its willingness to talk bilaterally with the North but
stressed that it would be only aimed to convince Pyongyang to return to the
six-party talks. U.S. officials said they have yet to set the date, venue, and
other details for the planned talks.
The source said Ri may meet Sung Kim if he travels to the U.S. to prepare for a
higher-level meeting.
While visiting New York last November to join an academic seminar, Ri met with
Frank Jannuzi, a key foreign policy adviser to President Barack Obama.
North Korea sent Jung Tae-yang, vice director general of the Foreign Ministry's
American bureau, to last year's session of the NEACD in Beijing, while the U.S.
was represented by Alexander A. Arvizu, then deputy assistant secretary for East
Asian and Pacific Affairs.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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