Christian Science Monitor
12/17/2009 (12/16/2009 EST)
By Peter Grier
Washington - The US envoy who traveled to Pyongyang for the Obama administration’s first high-level talks with North Korea did not get to meet Kim Jong Il, the mercurial North Korean leader.
But he says that he’s not offended. After all, only two American officials have met Kim Jong Il, ever. And those were Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and ex-President Bill Clinton.
“He does not meet with a lot of people. He meets with non-North Koreans very rarely,” said US Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth at a Dec. 16 briefing for reporters.
Ambassador Bosworth would not confirm news reports that he carried a personal letter from President Obama to North Korea’s leader.
“I was the message,” said Bosworth.
Glimpse of a better future?
The main point of the message was that the relationship between North Korea and the US, and between North Korea and its East Asian neighbors, could be very different, and more positive, than it is today.
Of course, that is “provided that North Korea proceeds down this road to denuclearization,” said the US envoy.
North Korean officials agreed with him on the need to restart stalled six-party talks involving the United States, North Korea, China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea. But they did not set a time when they might return to the negotiating table.
In 2005, North Korea promised to begin dismantling its nuclear efforts in exchange for aid and political concessions. But that was the high point. Negotiations deadlocked shortly thereafter.
US message: don't test again
This June, the UN Security Council tightened sanctions against North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s second nuclear test. Since then North Korea has refused even to engage in substantive discussions.
Bosworth said that he urged the North Koreans not to set off a third nuclear test. In addition, he told them that their newly revealed uranium enrichment program will have to be included in any future disarmament talks.
North Korea’s existing nuclear devices are thought to be produced with plutonium as their fissile cores. The plutonium came from reprocessing spent fuel rods from a nuclear power reactor.
The US has long suspected that North Korea also had a uranium enrichment program, giving them two ways to produce fissile material. That was confirmed this fall, when Pyongyang announced that it had completed a first phase of uranium enrichment.
“They put it on the agenda,” said Bosworth, by publicly announcing its existence.
Showing posts with label Stephen Bosworth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stephen Bosworth. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Obama sends letter to North Korea's Kim, no moves on talks
Reuters
12/16/2009 EST
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has written a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, but Washington's envoy offered no sign of progress in persuading Pyongyang to return to nuclear disarmament talks.
The letter was delivered by U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth during his three-day trip to North Korea last week. A U.S. official confirmed the letter was sent but would not discuss its contents.
Asked about the letter, Bosworth declined to comment, saying only that "I was the message" and that he had carried no letter back from Pyongyang and had not discussed the idea of him meeting with the North Koreans a second time.
"I was conveying very directly to the North Korean leadership a vision for the future which would be a lot different than the present or the past," he told a news conference in Washington.
On offer for North Korea was improved relations with the United States and the North's Asian neighbors if Pyongyang follows through on denuclearization pledges made in earlier rounds of six-party nuclear negotiations.
North Korea hinted on Friday following the talks with Bosworth that it could end its year-long boycott of the six-party nuclear negotiations with the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.
Bosworth told reporters, however, that while North Korea said it recognized the importance of the six-party process, Pyongyang had made no commitment to return to talks and further consultations among the parties would be needed.
It was unclear whether the North had made a decision to shed its nuclear weapons programs, Bosworth said.
"I am unable to say whether they've made that strategic decision or they've not made that strategic decision," he said.
Bosworth's meetings capped months of maneuvering to reduce tensions after North Korea test-fired missiles and set off a nuclear device, triggering U.N. sanctions.
It is relatively rare for a U.S. president to send a personal letter to the North Korean leader, though President George W. Bush sent one to Kim in December 2007. Bush's letter raised the possibility of normalized relations in exchange for North Korea's full disclosure of its nuclear programs.
12/16/2009 EST
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has written a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, but Washington's envoy offered no sign of progress in persuading Pyongyang to return to nuclear disarmament talks.
The letter was delivered by U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth during his three-day trip to North Korea last week. A U.S. official confirmed the letter was sent but would not discuss its contents.
Asked about the letter, Bosworth declined to comment, saying only that "I was the message" and that he had carried no letter back from Pyongyang and had not discussed the idea of him meeting with the North Koreans a second time.
"I was conveying very directly to the North Korean leadership a vision for the future which would be a lot different than the present or the past," he told a news conference in Washington.
On offer for North Korea was improved relations with the United States and the North's Asian neighbors if Pyongyang follows through on denuclearization pledges made in earlier rounds of six-party nuclear negotiations.
North Korea hinted on Friday following the talks with Bosworth that it could end its year-long boycott of the six-party nuclear negotiations with the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.
Bosworth told reporters, however, that while North Korea said it recognized the importance of the six-party process, Pyongyang had made no commitment to return to talks and further consultations among the parties would be needed.
It was unclear whether the North had made a decision to shed its nuclear weapons programs, Bosworth said.
"I am unable to say whether they've made that strategic decision or they've not made that strategic decision," he said.
Bosworth's meetings capped months of maneuvering to reduce tensions after North Korea test-fired missiles and set off a nuclear device, triggering U.N. sanctions.
It is relatively rare for a U.S. president to send a personal letter to the North Korean leader, though President George W. Bush sent one to Kim in December 2007. Bush's letter raised the possibility of normalized relations in exchange for North Korea's full disclosure of its nuclear programs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)