By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
With the U.S. North Korea Envoy Stephen Bosworth's visit to North Korea less than a week away, the top American diplomat in Korea said Thursday that Bosworth's trip was aimed at bringing Pyongyang back to the six-party talks as soon as possible.
Bosworth is set to fly into Pyongyang on Dec. 8 for a meeting with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok-ju, according to Yonhap News.
In her speech during a forum at the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis, Ambassador Kathleen Stephens said the trip "will take place in the context of the six-party talks with the purpose of facilitating an early resumption of the sixty-party talks."
The six-party forum is an official venue for talks attempting to persuade the communist North to abandon its nuclear program in a peaceful manner. North Korea has been in and out of the negotiations claiming that the parties, especially South Korea and the United States, had a hostile approach toward the regime.
Bosworth will fly into Pyongyang after arriving in South Korea Sunday, Yonhap said, quoting a government official.
Ambassador Stephens reiterated that North Korea will receive an assistance package in exchange for its verifiable nuclear dismantlement, including economic incentives and opening of a bilateral diplomatic channel with the U.S.
Stephens's remarks followed a Japanese news report that said North Korea would propose the date of its return to the six-party talks while Bosworth is in Pyongyang.
Quoting anonymous Japanese government officials, the Sankei Shimbun said the expectation for the negotiations to resume soon was very high.
It also said Bosworth's visit was the result of the Kim Jong-il regime's invitation during the summer.