Wu to visit Seoul, Carter to go to Pyongyang next week

Wu Dawei, the chief Chinese negotiator for the six-party talks on the denuclearization of North Korea, will visit Seoul Tuesday, when former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is scheduled to visit Pyongyang.

South Korea’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry said Friday that Wu will hold talks with South Korean counterpart Wi Sung-lac Tuesday and Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan the next day on inter-Korean relations and Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons development.

Wu is likely to convey Pyongyang’s message on the proposed talks between both Koreas on the North`s denuclearization.

After seeting North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan in Beijing on April 11, Wu said Pyongyang accepted Seoul’s proposal to hold inter-Korean denuclearization talks before the North`s dialogue with the U.S. and the six-party meeting.

On if Seoul is willing to accept Pyongyang`s offer of talks made through China, a senior South Korean official said, “How the proposal is made is not important. The important thing is what will be discussed.”

The official also suggested that the key lies in whether Pyongyang shows sincerity about making progress in its denuclearization.

The senior Chinese officials visit Seoul and Carter`s trip to Pyongyang will likely attract global attention to the Korean Peninsula. Carter plans to visit Seoul Thursday after leaving Pyongyang.

South Korean officials, however, remain cautious, with one saying, “It is a coincidence that the two people will visit the two Koreas at the same time. It is burdensome to see growing expectations over the proposed resumption of the six-party talks.”

The official urged against holding too many expectations over Pyongyang’s attitude, saying that if the North had anything to offer on its denuclearization, it would have already done so.

The North has yet to shown sincerity over its denuclearization and Seoul’s demand for an apology for Pyongyang’s attacks last year on a South Korean warship and Yeonpyeong Island. South Korean officials say the North’s calls for dialogue from the beginning of this year are nothing but a peace offensive in disguise.

kyle@donga.com