U.S.-N.K. talks floated amid envoy’s visit

Glyn Davies to meet with South Korean chief negotiator this week


High-ranking officials of the U.S. and North Korea may hold a third round of negotiations on the stalled six-party nuclear talks after the new U.S. special envoy to North Korea visits his South Korean counterpart in Seoul this week, sources said.

Glyn Davies, who has been serving as the U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, was appointed special envoy to North Korea, replacing Stephen Bosworth.

Davies was introduced by Bosworth to North Korean officials at the second round of U.S.-North Korean talks in Geneva in October.

The new envoy is expected to meet with Lim Sung-nam, the South Korean chief negotiator to the six-party talks. Davies’ visit to Seoul is part of his Asian tour, which includes meetings with Chinese and Japanese officials, according to an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The exact date for the bilateral meeting between Davies and Lim has not been disclosed but news reports said it may be Thursday.

The official, who requested anonymity, said “the ball is in the North Korean court” but he had a feeling that Davies was a good partner for an airtight cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. in preparations for resumption of the six-party talks.

He said that the recent tripartite meeting in Bali, among senior officials of the U.S., South Korea and Japan to coordinate a joint strategy on the North Korean nuclear issue, was a signal to Pyongyang that the North has to show “concrete actions.”

Six-party talks, involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia, have been stalled since 2008.

Pyongyang recently called for a resumption of the nuclear talks “without preconditions” but Seoul and Washington insist Pyongyang must take action to show that it will give up nuclear ambitions, such as allowing outsiders to monitor a shutdown of its uranium enrichment plant.

North Korea said Wednesday it was making rapid progress in its uranium enrichment program and building of a light-water nuclear power plant, raising more concerns that the communist state is trying to make atomic weapons.

However, another South Korean official said North Korea’s aggressive expression of its nuclear stance is a typical way to deal with outsiders, adding that Pyongyang might feel more impatient as the year-end is approaching.

“North Korea has set next year as the year when it will become a ‘strong state’ and it needs a festive mood for leader Kim Jong-il’s son Jong-un’s birthday, Jan. 8. It will be difficult for North Korea to take radical moves,” the official said.

Hong Hyun-ik, director of Security Strategy Studies at the Sejong Institute, said the longer the talks are delayed, the more North Korea’s nuclear capacity will be strengthened.

“The South Korean government should not overlook the possibility of North Korea’s additional provocations, while it is already too late to offer economic aid,” Hong said.

He said with Davies coming, it was possible that the U.S. could offer North Korea food aid for humanitarian purposes and that the North could temporarily halt its uranium enrichment program.

“Given Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik’s more eased approach toward the North, the third round of U.S.-North Korea talks could happen within this year,” he said.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)