Report: North Korea’s chief nuclear envoy to visit US soon for bilateral talks
By APThursday, February 18, 2010
Report: NKorea’s chief nuclear envoy to visit US
SEOUL, South Korea — A top North Korean nuclear envoy could visit the United States soon for bilateral talks, a news report said Friday, amid diplomatic efforts to jump-start stalled talks on ending Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.
North Korean envoy Kim Kye Gwan plans to attend a seminar in San Francisco before heading to New York to meet with Washington’s lead nuclear negotiator Sung Kim either late this month or next month, the South Korean cable news network YTN reported, citing an unidentified source in Beijing.
Kim visited Beijing last week for talks with his Chinese counterpart on resuming the disarmament talks that also involve South Korea, Russia and Japan.
North Korea quit the disarmament-for-aid negotiations and conducted a second nuclear test last year, drawing tightened U.N. sanctions. North Korea has demanded a lifting of the sanctions and peace talks formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War before it returns to the negotiating table.
During Kim’s stay in Beijing, his aide met with U.S. Embassy officials in Beijing to coordinate Kim’s trip to the U.S., YTN said.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Darby Holladay said late Thursday evening that he was unaware of any meetings. Spokesman P.J. Crowley said last week that there were no plans for a visit by Kim.
Officials from the U.S. and North Korea last met one-on-one in December, when President Barack Obama’s special envoy on North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, visited Pyongyang. The bilateral talks were the first since Obama took office.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency repeated the country’s position on Friday that it would not abandon its nuclear program unless the U.S. ends what the North calls “hostile policy” and removes nuclear threats against the North.
The North claims it was compelled to develop atomic bombs to cope with U.S. nuclear threats. The U.S., which denies making any threats against the North, has called on the North to return to the talks.
Meanwhile, North Korea designated four new “naval firing zones” off the west coast and two others off the east coast, both effective Saturday through Monday, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday.
Last month, North Korea fired artillery shells near its disputed western sea border with South Korea, prompting the South Koreans to fire warning shots. No injuries or damage were reported.
Associated Press writer Christine Simmons in Washington contributed to this report.
