North Korea Ready for Visit from Bush

Kyodo News reported on July 23 that North Korea says they are ready to receive U.S. President George W. Bush or Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to normalize relations between the two countries through informal contact with the U.S.

Kyodo News said citing diplomatic sources that this message came from meetings among members of the negotiation delegation. The meetings were held in New York from late last month until early July.

Joseph DeTrani, U.S. Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks, and Lee Keun, director for the U.S. department of the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participated in the informal meetings held in New York ahead of the six-party talks concerning North Korean nuclear issues.

According to diplomatic sources, the remark of Bush’s visit to North Korea came out while discussing how to build trust between the two countries, and North Korea mentioned that they are ready to receive the former president George H.W. Bush as well as President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Won-Jae Park parkwj@donga.com