Group of U.S. experts to visit N. Korea this month: sources

By Tony Chang
SEOUL, Nov. 5 (Yonhap) -- A group of U.S experts on Korean affairs plan to visit
North Korea later this month to meet with key officials involved in Pyongyang's
nuclear program, informed sources said Thursday.

Jack Pritchard, president of the Korea Economic Institute (KEI), and Scott
Snyder, director of the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy at the Asia Foundation, are
expected to visit North Korea from Nov. 21-24, a senior diplomatic source said,
asking for anonymity.
The source said Pritchard mentioned the travel plan during his South Korea visit
last month.
Another diplomatic source said he was aware that Pritchard, Snyder, and a fellow
researcher from the KEI are planning to visit North Korea in a private capacity.
"The purpose of the visit is to meet with key North Korean officials involved in
the country's nuclear program," the source said.
After months of provocations, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il indicated Pyongyang
would return to six-party denuclearization talks pending the outcome of bilateral
talks with the U.S.
Officials at the U.S. State Department have repeated that they are considering
whether to accept Pyongyang's invitation for Stephen Bosworth, special
representative for North Korea policy, to visit there and if so, when he will
make the high-stakes trip.
Sources said that Pritchard and the party have consulted with the State
Department on the planned trip and are expected to brief the U.S. government of
the results.
U.S. officials argue the North's recent conciliatory overtures are the result of
international financial sanctions and an overall arms embargo, which they said
effectively cut off revenues from arms sales, one of the limited sources for
obtaining hard currency for the impoverished communist state.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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