North Korean negotiator invited to U.S.

Ri Gun, director-general of the North American division at the Foreign Ministry, is expected to visit the U.S. to attend a series of seminars.

Hopes ride on opening of new dialogue

A senior North Korean nuclear negotiator is planning to visit the United States next month to attend academic seminars at the invitation of U.S. government officials and congressmen, sources said. Many hope his visit could open channels of dialogue which have been closed since the seven-month stalemate of the six-party negotiations on North Korea’s nuclear program.

Ri Gun, director-general of the North American division at the Foreign Ministry, will come to the U.S. between late July and early August to attend a series of seminars, which will be organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) and Stanford University, the sources said.

The U.S. state department confirmed that the North has applied for a visa for Mr. Ri to travel to the U.S., but it stopped short of confirming the exact dates for his visit.

Mr. Ri, who held unofficial talks with U.S. officials at seminars held in August 2004 and June 2005, failed to attend such a meeting in December 2004 due to a rejection of his visa application by U.S. authorities.

At a time when the six-party talks remain in a stalemate, however, experts say that the likelihood of the visit is still uncertain.