U.S. not yet decided on Bosworth's possible Pyongyang trip: State Dept.

By Hwang Doo-hyong

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (Yonhap) -- The United States has not yet made a decision on holding senior-level bilateral talks with North Korea to persuade Pyongyang to come back to the stalled six-party negotiations on ending its nuclear ambitions, the State Department said Thursday.

The bilateral talks would likely involve Stephen Bosworth, U.S. point man on
North Korea policy.
"We are now deliberating on whether or not to accept the invitation on Ambassador
Bosworth's bilateral talks, which would lead to the resumption of six-party
talks," spokesman Ian Kelly said. "We have made no decision on about when and
where. That's exactly where we are."
Kelly was responding to reports that Sung Kim, U.S. special envoy for the
six-party talks, and Ri Gun, director general of the North American affairs
bureau of North Korea's foreign ministry, agreed on an imminent visit to
Pyongyang by Bosworth and at least another bilateral meeting later before North
Korea comes back to the six-party forum.
Kim and Ri met in New York and San Diego on the sidelines of academic seminars
last week.
"I don't know anything about any kind of stipulation for two talks before we have
multilateral talks," the spokesman said. "We are right now deliberating on next
steps."
South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said in Seoul earlier in the day that
North Korea and the U.S. are expected to meet face-to-face late this year or
early next year to make a breakthrough on the six-party talks, deadlocked over
U.N. sanctions for Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests early this year.
After months of provocations, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in August extended
an invitation to Bosworth and recently agreed to return to the six-party talks
pending the outcome of bilateral talks with the U.S.
U.S. officials see the North's recent conciliatory overtures as the result of
international financial sanctions and an overall arms embargo, which they said
effectively cut off revenues from arms sales, the only source of hard currency
for the impoverished communist state.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said recently, "We are prepared to meet
bilaterally with North Korea within the framework of the six-party talks,"
warning the U.S. will not lift sanctions or normalize ties unless North Korea
takes irreversible steps toward denuclearization.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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