By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The top U.S. envoy to South Korea said Wednesday that he believes a summit between President George W. Bush and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il can take place next year if the North scraps all of its nuclear programs, according to reports.
During a forum in Seoul, U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow said Pyongyang should dismantle its nuclear programs, not just disable them, to get help from the international community and normalize diplomatic ties with other countries, the reports said.
The leaders of the United States and North Korea have not met since 1953 when the Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
North Korea pledged it will disable its nuclear programs by the end of the year in exchange for economic and political assistances as agreed in a Feb. 13 disarmament pact.
The February agreement, however, fell short of mentioning any existing nuclear weapons or plutonium stockpiles held by the North, which conducted its first-ever nuclear device test last October.
International efforts to rid the North of nuclear programs have gained momentum following diplomatic normalization talks between the United States and North Korea in Geneva early this month.
In the two days of talks, the North Korean nuclear envoy, Kim Gye-gwan, said his country will disable its atomic programs by the end of the year in return for political and economic compensation.
Optimism for future nuclear talks also grew high when Bush reiterated his willingness to sign a peace treaty with North Korea if it goes through with denuclearization, during a meeting with President Roh Moo-hyun last Friday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Australia.
In another significant step, North Korea has invited nuclear experts from the United States, China and Russia to inspect its nuclear facilities.