hankyoreh

U.S. special representative for North Korea Policy.

The size and schedule of the U.S. team heading to North Korea on Dec. 8 and led by Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for North Korea Policy, appears to some as rather “small” relative to the intense interest and large expectations surrounding the visit.

First, according to the information that has been released regarding the visit, Bosworth’s team plans to stay in Pyongyang for only a short time, for two days and one night. If there is progress in talks with North Korea, however, the team has the option of extending their stay by a day or two. In fact, when William Perry visited North Korea for four days and three nights from May 25 through May 28, 1999 during the Clinton administration, and James Kelly visited for three days and two nights Oct 3 through Oct. 5 ((in 2002)) during the Bush administration, both stayed one day longer than originally scheduled.

Second, the delegation will reportedly consist of four to five people, about half the size of previous delegations to North Korea. Both Perry and Kelly visited as a part of an eight-member delegation. Bosworth’s delegation will consist Sung Kim, U.S. special envoy for six-party talks, and White House and Pentagon officials.

Their method of transportation to North Korea remains unknown at this point. In light of precedent, experts guess they may enter a transit point such as Japan or South Korea and board a special military flight to Pyongyang. During Kelly’s visit, following an exchange of opinions with the South Korean government the previous day, the delegation boarded a special military plane at the U.S airbase in Osan and took the direct route to Pyongyang over the West Sea. During Perry’s visit, following a three-way high-ranking policy meeting between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, the delegation boarded a flight at Yokota Air Base and took the direct route to Pyongyang over the East Sea.

U.S. State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly said Thursday (local time) that after his visit to North Korea, Bosworth plans to inform other six-party talks nations, including South Korea, China, Japan and Russia, of the results of his talks.

In response to questions regarding the rather “cozy” size of the delegation and schedule, South Korean government officials say they believe this reflects the U.S. administration’s intention to avoid substantive negotiations during these North Korea-U.S. talks, and will to resolve the nuclear issue through the six-party talks. The U.S. government, also aware of suspicions of the U.S. and North Korea going it alone, has expressed this sentiment on several occasions.

In contrast, other analysts point out that since August, through former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s visit to North Korea, North Korean Foreign Ministry Director of U.S. Affairs Ri Gun’s visit to the U.S., and the New York channel, the two sides have reportedly already learned a great deal about each other’s inner thoughts. Accordingly, rather than overemphasizing the brevity of the released schedule or size of the delegation, they believe the results of the dense but quiet contacts between the two countries will determine to a fair extent the potential of the North Korea-U.S. talks, which are scheduled to take place twice.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]