Senior N.K. diplomat visits China

BEIJING (Yonhap News) ― A senior North Korean diplomat handling U.S. affairs arrived in Beijing Tuesday, spurring speculation over a possible meeting with Washington’s special envoy for Pyongyang.

Ri Gun, director general for North American affairs at North Korea’s foreign ministry, was seen heading to Pyongyang’s embassy in Beijing after arriving at an airport in the Chinese capital.

His visit comes during a lull in nuclear talks with Pyongyang.

Since July, South Korea and the U.S. have each held two rounds of bilateral talks with North Korea to determine its seriousness about nuclear disarmament. The meetings produced no breakthrough, delaying a resumption of broader six-nation talks on denuclearizing the North.

Ri took part in both meetings with the U.S., in July and October. Glyn Davies, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, is also scheduled to arrive in Beijing Tuesday for a two-day visit. The envoy is on his first tour of South Korea, Japan and China since being appointed to the post in October.

Responding to reporters’ questions at the airport, however, Ri denied he plans to meet Davies in Beijing.

Last week, in Seoul, Davies urged North Korea to continue talks with South Korea over its nuclear weapons program, saying it is a crucial step to resuming the six-party talks.

The multilateral forum is between the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the U.S. It offers political and economic aid to Pyongyang in return for nuclear disarmament, but has been stalled for nearly three years.