S. Korea's nuke envoy to visit China as standoff deepens with N. Korea

SEOUL (Yonhap) - Amid dwindling hope for inter-Korean talks, South Korea's nuclear envoy will fly to China, North Korea's top ally, this week after Pyongyang angrily announced it would no longer deal with Seoul, a foreign ministry official here said Tuesday.
Wi Sung-lac, who represents South Korea in the stalled six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear arms programs, will meet with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei during his two-day trip that begins on Wednesday, the official said.
North Korea declared last week it would no longer speak to South Korea, accusing Seoul of breaching trust by divulging details of their secret overseas contact aimed at setting up a summit.
The accusation came amid hopes that the North would soon extend an offer to the South for a breakthrough in nuclear dialogue between the divided countries that would help restart the six-party talks that also include the United States, Russia and Japan.
The bitter relations between the Koreas are expected to be among the agenda Wi plans to discuss when he travels to Beijing, the foreign ministry official here said. China, which hosts the six-party talks, had proposed that the two Koreas first hold dialogue.
The planned meeting in Beijing comes as Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, is in the Chinese capital. The senior U.S. diplomat was scheduled to fly out of China later Tuesday to Mongolia before visiting South Korea on Friday.