hankyoreh

left

By Son Won-je, Staff Writer　

North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-kwan, the country’s official in charge of nuclear negotiations, will be visiting New York City some time around July 28, it was reported Sunday.

During the visit, Kim is scheduled to meet with major officials in connection with North Korean nuclear negotiations, including U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth, indicating gathering momentum for dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington on the heels of recent denuclearization talks between senior representatives from North Korea and South Korea to the six-party talks.

Other signs of momentum building for a resumption of the six-party talks include an increasing possibility that dialogue will resume between Pyongyang and Tokyo as well.

Kim’s visit to New York is to take the form of an invitation by private research institutions, including the National Committee on American Foreign Policy and Korea Society. Despite this format, however, sources reported that Kim will be meeting with major U.S. officials during his visit to discuss prominent issues such as the North Korean nuclear program, U.S. food aid to the country, and the normalization of relations between the two countries. This marks the first direct dialogue between authorities in Pyongyang and Washington in 19 months, following a Dec. 19 visit to North Korea by Bosworth.

The South Korean government has also expressed its approval of a resumption of dialogue between North Korea and the United States.

“In discussions with the United States, we asked to be allowed to meet with First Vice Minister Kim Kye-kwan if he is able to meet with figures at the official level during his U.S. visit,” said a South Korean senior government official who attended the recent ASEAN Regional Forum in Bali, Indonesia during a meeting with reporters Saturday. “We also asked Japan to have contacts with North Korea if possible,” the official added.

The official resumption of North Korea-U.S. dialogue, which directly followed denuclearization talks Friday between senior representatives to the six-party talks from North Korea and South Korea, indicates that the countries involved in the talks are moving in rapid succession through the three-stage approach of inter-Korean denuclearization talks followed by North Korea-U.S. dialogue and a resumption of the six-party talks. In particular, the fact that the process is apparently being led by Pyongyang and Washington seems likely to pose a major challenge to the South Korean diplomatic strategy in which, as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Kim Sung-hwan said, “North Korea and South Korea should be leading the denuclearization talks.”

A senior South Korean government official said, “My understanding is that Pyongyang agreed to the inter-Korean denuclearization talks with Kim Kye-kwan’s U.S. visit in mind.”

Observers are noting a strong likelihood that North Korea appeared at the senior representatives’ talks as a kind of formality in its progress toward a resumption of dialogue with Washington. The United States, for its part, effectively diminished Seoul’s bargaining power by moving on the stage of North Korea-U.S. dialogue without any clear ideas for headway in denuclearization having emerged at the senior representatives’ talks.

Amid the situation that is now unfolding, North Korea and South Korea have failed to establish any date for follow-up talks on denuclearization, as the U.S. enters direct dialogue with Kim, who as First Vice Foreign Minister is a level above senior six-party talks representative and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Yong-ho.

“It is unacceptable to have this method where North Korea holds denuclearization talks with South Korea just once and then continually goes into dialogue with the United States,” said a South Korean government official. “Seoul and Washington will end up reviewing the results of each other’s dialogue and pursuing two tracks of dialogue in tandem.”

Another senior official said, “It is also possible there will be plans for using North Korean [food and fertilizer] aid as leverage to keep inter-Korean denuclearization talks going.”

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