Kelly Comes to South Korea to Discuss Six-Way Talks

James Kelly, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, arrived in Seoul yesterday at 9:10 p.m. via an Air China flight in order to discuss the second six-way talks regarding the North Korean nuclear standoff.

Assistant Secretary Kelly, who is leading the United States negotiators on the six-way talks, will meet with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Lee Soo-hyuk, Presidential Advisor for Foreign Affairs Ban Ki-moon, and Presidential Defense Advisor Kim Hee-Sang on November 20 and will discuss topics including the North’s nuclear problems and a safety assurance plan for North Korea.

Before flying into South Korea, Kelly had made consecutive visits to China and Japan starting from November 16.

A date for resuming the second round of six-way talks will be settled soon after the discussion between Kelly and the South Korean government.

Young-Sik Kim spear@donga.com