By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Stalled negotiations on North Korea-related issues, including its nuclear program, are expected to gain momentum as international meetings are scheduled to take place between late September and early October.
Besides, Premier Wen Jiabao of China, North Korea's traditional ally, is reportedly planning to visit the isolated state next month to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
A leading North Korea watcher here said that China is likely to play a key coordinating role for imminent bilateral dialogue between the United States and North Korea.
"China is the host country of the six-party denuclearization talks and won a peaceful image by dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue," he told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity.
"I think Beijing will dispatch a special envoy to Pyongyang and tune the bilateral talks."
During his three-day visit from Oct. 5, the Chinese premier is scheduled to attend the closing ceremony of the China-North Korea Friendship Year, which marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations, he said.
In addition, there are several chances for meetings between officials from North Korea and the United States.
The 64th session of the U.N. General Assembly will open Sept. 15 in New York, and the general debate will be held between Sept. 23 and 26.
In addition, the G-20 meeting of leaders from the world's largest economies will take place from Sept. 24 to 25 in Pittsburgh.
Participants in the six-party talks, including South Korea, China, Japan and the United States, will also attend the summit and may coordinate the Washington-Pyongyang dialogue. President Lee Myung-bak is expected to attend the summit.
U.S. President Barack Obama will chair the meeting of leaders from countries around the world that represent 85 percent of the world economy, the organizers said.
Leaders will review the progress made since the Washington and London summits, and discuss further action to ensure a sound and sustainable recovery from the global financial and economic crisis, they said.
The U.S. flexible stance on the two-way talks with North Korea also supports speculation that the bilateral meeting may be held at an early date.
"We are prepared to enter into a bilateral discussion with North Korea... and it's designed to convince North Korea to come back to the six-party process and to take affirmative steps toward denuclearization," said Phillip Crowley, the assistant secretary of state for public affairs.
The South Korean government remains cautious that Washington and Pyongyang have entered a new phase of dialogue.
"It appears to take some time to determine details on a date, place and major agendas of the bilateral talks," a ranking official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said, asking to remain anonymous.
He continued, "The bilateral talks may be designed to resume the six-party talks to dismantle North Korea's nuclear programs but it does not seem that the United States has finalized its stance."
South Korea has reiterated that it supports the two-way meeting between the United States and North Korea as long as it contributes to the denuclearization of North Korea.
The moves come after North Korea issued conciliatory gestures toward South Korea. It freed a South Korean employee detailed at a joint industrial complex in Gaeseong in the North and four fishermen later. Pyongyang also sent a delegation to Seoul to pay respect to the late former President Kim Dae-jung.