North Korea Returning to Six-party Talks

On Monday at a meeting with U.S. officials, North Korea expressed its willingness to return to the six-party talks, according to the Washington Post.

The Washington Post added on June 7, “However, the North Korean diplomats refused to set the date for the resumption of the talks.”

The meeting between the North and the U.S. held at the request of Pyongyang was attended by Joseph DeTrani, the U.S. State Department’s special envoy for the six-party talks, James Foster, the State Department`s director of Korean affairs, Pak Gil-yon, chief of the North`s mission in New York, and his deputy, Amb. Han Song-ryol.

The Washington Post reported that the U.S. officials briefed the two Asian diplomats on the meeting, saying that “North Korean message was neither negative nor positive,” and added that the U.S. officials remarked, “it was disappointing North Korea would not set a firm date for restarting the talks.”

Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura commented, “Even though I didn’t hear the contents of the meeting between North Korea and the U.S, I welcome the move by North Korea as a step forward in the resumption of the six-party talks.”

Seung-RyunKim Jong-Koo Yoon srkim@donga.com jkmas@donga.com