NK-US talks in Berlin

Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye-Kwan and U.S. special envoy on Korean affairs Charles Kartman are expected to hold talks in Berlin July 19 to prepare for unprecedented foreign ministers talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

Diplomatic sources said on July 15 that North Korean vice foreign minister Kim and Washington¡¯s special envoy Kartman will be likely to make arrangement for the meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-Sun expectedly to be held around the time of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian countries)-Regional Forum meeting slated for July 27.

The sources said that at the Berlin talks, Kim and Kartman will also discuss a visit to Washington by a high-level official to Washington, which could be a watershed in the North-American relationship, as well as North¡¯s missile development program.