‘NK Seeks Bilateral Talks With US on Nukes’

North Korea apparently favors bilateral talks with the United States rather than the six-party talks on ending Pyongyang’s nuclear program, a group of U.S. experts said Saturday.

The group visited Pyongyang for talks with North Korean officials Tuesday through Saturday.

Jonathan Pollack, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College who arrived in Beijing from Pyongyang, said the North is aware of the importance of the six-party talks on ending the North’s nuclear program.

“But I felt that they favor direct talks with Washington over the multilateral talks,” he said.

Stephen Bosworth, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea, said, “Contrary to the hostile rhetoric it used against South Korea, the North didn’t appear to make preparations to test a long-range missile.”

“When we expressed worries over the launch, North Korean officials said we should all wait and see.”

In the first visit to the communist country by a U.S. delegation since the inauguration of the Obama administration, the group comprised seven academics and former government officials, including former Assistant Secretary of State Morton Abramowitz.

bonhong@donga.com