UN, China in Diplomacy to Persuade North Korea

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Sat, December 9, 2023 | 08:56

-------------------------

UN, China in Diplomacy to Persuade North Korea

Posted : 2010-02-07 17:54

Updated : 2010-02-07 17:54

By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter

U.N. Special Envoy to North Korea Lynn Pascoe indicated that his upcoming visit to the secretive state will include discussions on the resumption of the stalled six-party denuclearization talks, saying all issues will be on the table.

His visit will be made after Wang Jiarui, head of the Chinese Communist Party's international department, returns home from a four-day trip to the isolated state that may include a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

Speculation is growing that the communist state may rejoin the multilateral forum aimed at ending the North's nuclear ambitions.

"We expect to talk about the entire range of issues while we are up there," Pascoe told reporters here.

The envoy, however, did not elaborate further and avoided confirming whether or not he will deliver a letter written by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

He is expected to arrive in Pyongyang via Beijing Tuesday before returning to New York on Feb. 14 following a stopover in Seoul Saturday.

Pascoe is expected to meet with North Korean senior officials including Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun and attempt to persuade Pyongyang to come back to the six-way meeting.

The North declared a boycott of the multilateral forum, which involves South and North Korea, the United States, Japan, China and Russia, after the United Nations imposed sanctions over its second nuclear test last May.

Some North Korea watchers speculated that the secretive state is likely to demand the removal of sanctions in return for its return to the deadlocked negotiations.

Wang's visit to the North also raised the possibility that the state may return to the six-way talks.

ksy@koreatimes.co.kr