 U.S. special envoy on North Korea |
Stephen Bosworth, a U.S. pointman on North Korea, arrived in Seoul Sunday for policy consultation with senior diplomats about the resumption of the six-party talks.
His visit came at a time when Seoul was mulling over giving humanitarian assistance to the North after receiving a request from the North last week.
Experts cautiously speculated that the U.S. envoy’s visit could signal a possible change in the U.S. and South Korean stance toward North Korea.
South Korea, with the stalwart support of the United States, has maintained a hard-line policy toward the North after the latter was found to have torpedoed the warship Cheonan on March 26.
Bosworth is scheduled to meet today with Shin Kak-soo, acting minister of foreign affairs and trade, and Wi Sung-lac, South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy to the six-party talks.
During the meetings, the two sides will exchange views about their overall assessment of the circumstance after the Cheonan tragedy and the resumption on the six-party talks.
The multilateral talks have been suspended after North Korea withdrew from them in April last year to protest the U.N. Security Council’s condemnation of long-range missle launches in a presidential statement.
The UNSC adopted another presidential statement after the sinking of the Cheonan.
The statement condemned the attack on the warship, but it didn’t pinpoint the North as being responsible for the tragedy. North Korea signaled its willingness to return to dialogue after the UNSC statement.
But South Korea and the United States have shown little sign of easing their stances, demanding the North come up with “constructive gestures” for denuclearization.
Sources said Bosworth may express the U.S. concern during the meetings that suspending talks too long could help the North buy time for developing its nuclear program further.
The U.S. envoy visited Seoul after meeting with officials in Japan and China over the multilateral talks.
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