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| US Envoy Sees No Change in NK |
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Stephen Bosworth
US Special Envoy to North Korea |
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
The U.S. special envoy to North Korea said Sunday that he saw no "fundamental change" in North Korea despite its recent conciliatory gestures.
Stephen Bosworth also said his country is "prepared" for bilateral dialogue with North Korea within the existing six-party nuclear talks.
"I don't think there's been any fundamental change," the envoy ― who was ending a three-day trip to Seoul ― told reporters before leaving for Japan.
"We are very gratified that young American journalists have been released but our primary interest remains the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and we continue to support opportunities to reinitiate this process."
On Aug. 4, the secretive state released two journalists it had detained for about three months for alleged illegal entry into its territory, after a surprise meeting between former U.S. President Bill Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
Pyongyang later lifted border-crossing bans imposed on South Korea and re-opened inter-Korean communication channels.
Bosworth began a three-nation Asian tour last Thursday, starting in Beijing, in an apparent bid to discuss ways to resume the six-way denuclearization talks and implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874 imposed over North Korea's nuclear test on May 25.
He met with Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, Unification Minister Hyun In-taek and chief nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac during his stay here.
A foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity that South Korea and the United States will fully implement the U.N. resolution but will leave doors open for the six-party talks.
Expressing satisfaction with the level of coordination with South Korean officials, Bosworth said the two countries had agreed to closely coordinate in resolving the North Korea nuclear issue.
The envoy said the United States was "prepared to engage bilaterally with (the) North Koreans but only within the context of six-party talks."
With regard to the North's statement on its nuclear program just hours before his arrival here Friday, Bosworth downplayed it.
"This is not the first we have heard of HEU (highly enriched uranium) and it may not be the last."
He continued, "If we are going to deal as we wish with the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, this is an issue that will have to be clarified."
North Korea sent the United Nations a letter saying its uranium enrichment program had entered its "final phase," and that it had extracted a fresh batch of plutonium for nuclear weapons.
ksy@koreatimes.co.kr
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무디스, 스페인·伊·포르투갈 신용등급 강등
