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UN envoy arrives in North Korea to spur nuke talks

10 February 2010 04:21 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. U.N. political chief B. Lynn Pascoe was greeted Tuesday by North Korean officials at an airport on the outskirts of the capital Pyongyang, according to footage broadcast by APTN in Pyongyang. Also Tuesday, North Korea’s top nuclear envoy, Kim Kye Gwan, flew to Beijing to discuss nuclear talks with Chinese officials, APA reports citing â€œAssociated Pressâ€.

A day earlier, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il renewed his country’s commitment to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula during a meeting with a visiting senior envoy from China.
The flurry of diplomacy heightened speculation that there could be a breakthrough to jump-start the stalled talks to rid Pyongyang of its nuclear programs.

In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters Tuesday that the United States supported talks between North Korea and China and hoped that the contact would lead to a resumption of the nuclear disarmament talks. He said North Korea seemed to be saying the right things recently but added: "The right words must be followed by action. Words by themselves are not sufficient."

North Korea walked away from the talks last year during a standoff over its nuclear and missile programs. The disarmament process includes the two Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the United States. Pyongyang, however, has been reaching out to Washington, Seoul and Beijing in recent months, and has taken tentative steps toward discussing how to get the process going again. Analysts say the about-face shows the regime is feeling the pinch from sanctions taken after its May nuclear test.

North Korea has made clear it wants U.N. sanctions lifted and a peace treaty with Washington formally ending the 1950-1953 Korean War before it returns to the disarmament talks. Pyongyang cites the U.S. military presence in South Korea as its main reason for building up its nuclear weapons program.

Washington says Pyongyang must come back to the talks first before any discussion about political and economic concessions.

Paik predicted that North Korea and the U.S. would meet soon for "final coordination" to reopen the six-party talks that involve the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan.