Bosworth due in Seoul en route to Pyongyang

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Dec. 6 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's North Korea envoy was to
arrive in South Korea later Sunday on his way to North Korea for what would be
the first bilateral dialogue between the two sides under the Obama
administration.

Stephen Bosworth, special representative for North Korea policy, is scheduled to
fly into Pyongyang on Tuesday for a three-day high-stakes trip during which he is
expected to meet the reclusive communist nation's Vice Foreign Minister Kang
Sok-ju. It is uncertain whether Bosworth will meet the North's leader Kim Jong-il
or tour its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon, about 100 kilometers north of the
capital.
The U.S. has said the purpose of his trip is to persuade North Korea back to the
six-way nuclear talks, not to have any substantial negotiations. Prospects are
mixed over the outcome of the first trip by a high-powered U.S. envoy to North
Korea after Christopher Hill visited there in October 2008 as Washington's top
nuclear envoy.
South Korean officials cautioned media against excessive expectations.
"There are no confirmed signals yet that North Korea will return to the six-party
talks," a senior foreign ministry official told reporters. He did say he would
bet on the possibility that Bosworth will not meet the North Korean leader during
the visit.
The official added the U.S. is intent on not engaging in any nuclear negotiations
with North Korea outside of the six-way talks also involving South Korea, China,
Russia, and Japan, and that the North's attitude is a key to the success of
Bosworth's trip.
Diplomatic watchers here, however, say Bosworth will not come back empty-handed
as North Korea and the U.S. held a number of preparatory consultations through
the North's mission to the U.N. in New York. In late October, Ri Gun, the
director of U.S. affairs at the North Korean Foreign Ministry, and Sung Kim, U.S.
special envoy for the six-party talks, also met in New York to discuss the agenda
for the forthcoming high-level dialogue.
For the U.S., the ideal scenario is that North Korea agrees to unconditionally
rejoin the six-way talks that have been stalled for a year. U.S. officials say
Bosworth's trip to Pyongyang, to be made at the invitation of the North Korean
regime, is in itself a face-saving gift for the country.
North Korea is expected to seek more concrete discussions over what incentives it
could gain by returning to the multilateral forum.
The North has stated that it would decide whether to come back to the six-way
talks in accordance with the result of its bilateral contact with the U.S.
Another top South Korean official said, "The U.S. wants to have one-time bilateral
talks, while North Korea will try to have additional rounds before the resumption
of the six-party talks."
Nam Sung-wook, director of the Institute for National Security Strategy, said
North Korea and the U.S. will likely have another high-level meeting in January
and February.
If Bosworth's trip bears no fruit and no minimum deal for such an additional
dialogue is agreed, he added, tensions will again run high amid the U.N.
resolutions against Pyongyang, which may take provocative acts including a third
nuclear experiment.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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