S. Korea's national security adviser heads to U.S. for talks on N. Korea

(ATTN: ADDS South Korean foreign minister in Russia, quotes in last 4 paras)
SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's national security adviser left Tuesday for the United States for talks focusing on North Korea's nuclear weapons programs, a diplomatic source said, amid a flurry of diplomacy to reopen the stalled multilateral forum on ending the North's nuclear drive.
Chun Yung-woo, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and national security, will meet with U.S. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon and other senior U.S. officials, the source said on the condition of anonymity.
Among other topics, Chun's visit will focus on discussing follow-up measures with the U.S. after a rare bilateral meeting late last month between senior U.S. and North Korean officials, the source said.
North Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan held a two-day meeting with Stephen Bosworth, Washington's special envoy on North Korea policy, in New York and both sides called the meeting "constructive."
While North Korea was upbeat about the bilateral meeting with the U.S., Washington was noncommittal, reiterating that Pyongyang must demonstrate its genuine willingness to keep its past promises to denuclearize before the multilateral talks can take place.
During his three-day trip, Chun is also likely to meet with Bosworth, the source said.
"I have learned that Bosworth, while on vacation for now, has scheduled a meeting with Chun," the source said. Chun served as South Korea's top negotiator to the six-party talks between 2006 and 2008.
The New York meeting followed talks last month between the nuclear envoys of South Korea and North Korea in Indonesia on the sidelines of an Asian security conference in which they agreed to make joint efforts to reopen the six-party talks.
The inter-Korean meeting in Indonesia set the tone for a flurry of renewed diplomacy to reopen the multilateral forum, which also involves the U.S., China, Japan and Russia. The six-party talks have been stalled since late 2008 when North Korea left the discussion table.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, who is now on a four-day visit to Russia, held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Monday.
During the talks, the two ministers had "in-depth" discussions on how to resume the six-party talks, Shin Maeng-ho, a spokesman at Seoul's Foreign Ministry, told reporters on Tuesday.
"The two sides also agreed that the six-party talks should be substantial and practical if resumed," Shin said.
Wi Sung-lac, South Korea's chief negotiator to the multinational talks, accompanied Kim, who will return home on Wednesday.
kdh@yna.co.kr