ID :
98961
Sat, 01/09/2010 - 07:57
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/98961
The shortlink copeid
U.S. envoy on N. Korean rights not to attend 6-way talks: State Dept.
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- The new U.S. special envoy for North Korean human
rights will not attend future rounds of the six-party talks on the North's
denuclearization, the State Department said Friday, in an apparent continuation
of Bush administration policy to avoid jeopardizing the fragile multilateral
forum.
"Obviously, he collaborates very closely with Ambassador Steve Bosworth and
Ambassador Sung Kim," Philip Crowley, assistant secretary of state for public
affairs, said "They have very complementary roles. They are in the region on a
regular basis consulting with our partners. But his role is different than the
six-party process."
Crowley was responding to a question if Robert King will be part of the U.S.
delegation to the six-party talks should they resume.
King will visit South Korea for four days beginning Monday on his first
fact-finding mission involving conditions inside the North since taking office
late last year. He will then fly to Tokyo Friday to discuss the kidnapping of
Japanese citizens by North Korean agents decades ago.
During the later Bush years, Republican senators pushed Christopher Hill,
then-U.S. point man on North Korea, to arrange for Jay Lefkowitz, King's
predecessor, to attend the six-party talks. But the administration avoided
addressing rights issues so as not to undermine U.S. efforts to denuclearize the
North through the on-and-off talks that began in 2003.
Of late the talks, hosted by China, have faltered due to North Korea's refusal to
participate in the wake of United Nations sanctions for its nuclear and missile
tests.
Stepping down after a four-year tenure last January, Lefkowitz wrote a final
report to urge President Obama to emphasize human rights in the six-party talks
and link any aid to Pyongyang with human rights improvements.
Lefkowitz was never allowed entry into North Korea.
"King has no plans to go to North Korea," Crowley said.
Crowley also said that the U.S. has not yet had consular access to Robert Park,
28, a Christian missionary from Tucson, Arizona, who was detained in North Korea
after crossing from China on Christmas Day to call attention to human rights
conditions.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- The new U.S. special envoy for North Korean human
rights will not attend future rounds of the six-party talks on the North's
denuclearization, the State Department said Friday, in an apparent continuation
of Bush administration policy to avoid jeopardizing the fragile multilateral
forum.
"Obviously, he collaborates very closely with Ambassador Steve Bosworth and
Ambassador Sung Kim," Philip Crowley, assistant secretary of state for public
affairs, said "They have very complementary roles. They are in the region on a
regular basis consulting with our partners. But his role is different than the
six-party process."
Crowley was responding to a question if Robert King will be part of the U.S.
delegation to the six-party talks should they resume.
King will visit South Korea for four days beginning Monday on his first
fact-finding mission involving conditions inside the North since taking office
late last year. He will then fly to Tokyo Friday to discuss the kidnapping of
Japanese citizens by North Korean agents decades ago.
During the later Bush years, Republican senators pushed Christopher Hill,
then-U.S. point man on North Korea, to arrange for Jay Lefkowitz, King's
predecessor, to attend the six-party talks. But the administration avoided
addressing rights issues so as not to undermine U.S. efforts to denuclearize the
North through the on-and-off talks that began in 2003.
Of late the talks, hosted by China, have faltered due to North Korea's refusal to
participate in the wake of United Nations sanctions for its nuclear and missile
tests.
Stepping down after a four-year tenure last January, Lefkowitz wrote a final
report to urge President Obama to emphasize human rights in the six-party talks
and link any aid to Pyongyang with human rights improvements.
Lefkowitz was never allowed entry into North Korea.
"King has no plans to go to North Korea," Crowley said.
Crowley also said that the U.S. has not yet had consular access to Robert Park,
28, a Christian missionary from Tucson, Arizona, who was detained in North Korea
after crossing from China on Christmas Day to call attention to human rights
conditions.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
