Seoul and Washington will further discuss North Korea's invitation of a senior U.S. official to Pyongyang amid disturbing signs that the regime is preparing a missile test.
A South Korean official, who accompanied Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon on his U.S. visit, said Friday that the two sides agreed that Pyongyang's latest overture merits a review.
A possible North Korean visit by Christopher Hill, U.S. assistant secretary of state, surfaced Thursday after North Korea invited him through a Foreign Ministry statement.
Hill is Washington's point man to the so-called six-party process, a nuclear negotiation group involving South and North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan.
The parties signed an agreement last September in which North Korea would give up its nuclear weapons and programs in return for political and economic incentives.
"If the United States has in fact made a political decision to implement the joint statement, we again invite the United States' chief delegate to the six-party talks to visit Pyongyang and personally explain to us," the North Korean statement said.
Pyongyang had invited Hill before in September.
Seoul officials have said that the latest overture may be a sign that Pyongyang is looking for a face-saver to return to the nuclear dialogue.
Washington's reaction has been cautious.
"I am sure we will be looking into this," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.
Foreign Minister Ban was in Washington early Friday, meeting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick and White House National Security Council Director Stephen Hadley.
"The consensus was that the two countries will continue to discuss this," the South Korean official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"No one said that the proposal does not deserve a second look," he said. "We can say that we have opened the door a bit and allowed some room."
On reports that North Korea was preparing for a missile test, the official said it was a possibility.
"(Seoul and Washington) emphasized that North Korea should not go ahead with it. Should it fire the missile, it would invoke serious concerns," he said.
Reports that started in Japan said Pyongyang, known to be developing ballistic missiles that could reach as far as Alaska, was about to test one of its Taepodong-2 long-range missiles.
While the test is not technically in violation of the six-party agreement from September, it would certainly "ruin" the atmosphere for negotiations, the official said.
He also confirmed Seoul and Washington are arranging a trip by U.S. human rights envoy Jay Lefkowitz to the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea, but declined to give specific dates, saying it will be set for "when it's convenient."
Lefkowitz, appointed last August as envoy for North Korean human rights, is critical of the Kaesong venture, initiated by the two Koreas to market price-competitive products by combining South Korea's capital with North Korea's cheap labor force.
The envoy claims that labor standards at Kaesong are questionable, and that the wages paid to the North Korean workers may be going into the pockets of Pyongyang's leaders.
"We need to consult with North Korea, but we will pursue Lefkowitz' visit, quietly," the official said.
WASHINGTON, June 2 (Yonhap)
Korea, U.S. to consult on N.K.'s invitation of nuclear negotiator |
