U.S., Japan, S. Korea to Prepare for Multilateral Talks with N. Korea

The United States, Japan and South Korea are likely to hold an unofficial meeting in Washington, D.C. in preparation for the follow-up measures on North Korea`s acceptance of six-way talks. The multilateral talks are expected to take place some time between late August and early September.

A South Korean official confirmed that, if necessary, the Roh administration would orchestrate a meeting of the TCOG, or Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group, in Japan prior to holding of the six-way talks.

"Associate Foreign Minister Lee will visit Washington in the near future to coordinate the positions of the three countries," said a Foreign Ministry official, on condition of anonymity, Saturday.

The three countries will reportedly make a joint proposal, which is to address various issues concerning North Korea and its nuclear program, such as the abandonment of its nuclear program, a U.S. guarantee of North Korea`s security, normalization of diplomacy with Washington and Tokyo, and an economic aid package.

Once the coordination is completed, the Roh administration is considering holding talks with the Chinese and Russian governments.

In the meantime, the Bush administration indicated Friday that it would hold direct talks with the North at the six-way meeting.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said on Friday during a regular briefing that holding multilateral talks would not exclude the possibility of North Korea`s holding direct talks with other participating countries.

On the other hand, State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher made it clear that the United States would share with allies like South Korea and Japan whatever was discussed in direct talks between the United States and North Korea, if direct talks were to be held at all. He added that there would be no secret deals cut between Pyongyang and Washington with other countries being excluded and uninformed.

The Washington Post reported that the Bush administration, upon request from Beijing, agreed to hold one-on-one talks with the North. Citing a Chinese government official, it also reported that the opportunity could come about during a break with representatives in which they would leave delegates of the two countries on their own for part of the meeting.

Citing both of US and Japanese officials, The Yomiuri Shinbum reported yesterday that the two countries were considering forming a nuclear inspection team, which would include Russia and China.