(2nd LD) U.S. envoy urges N. Korea to reengage in dialogue

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with new comments after meeting with S. Korean official;
CHANGES headline)
By Lee Chi-dong, Tony Chang
SEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- A senior U.S envoy urged North Korea Saturday to take
"serious and irreversible steps" to end its stand-off with the U.S. and other
regional powers, saying it is a precondition for a "comprehensive package" of
incentives.
Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs,
also emphasized that it is important to have patience and keep the door open for
dialogue with North Korea, while enforcing U.N. sanctions on the communist
nation for its provocative actions.
"I would say at this juncture the most important quality that the U.S., South
Korea, Japan, China and Russia can demonstrate is patience," he told reporters
after a closed-door meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Yong-joon here.
Campbell flew into South Korea from Japan earlier in the day for his first trip
to South Korea since assuming the post last month.
He pointed out that U.S. officials have made clear that, "If North Korea is
prepared to take serious and irreversible steps the U.S., South Korea, Japan,
China and others will be able to put together a comprehensive package that would
be attractive to North Korea. But in this respect, North Korea really has to take
some of the first steps."
All of the countries are participants in the six-way talks aimed at scrapping the
North's nuclear program. The last formal session of the Beijing-based
negotiations was held in December.
North Korea announced after a long-range rocket launch in April that it would quit
the often-troubled talks. The North also conducted a second nuclear test in May,
prompting the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution imposing a robust set of
sanctions on it.
In the latest measure against the North, a U.N. Security Council committee
imposed a travel ban on five North Korean officials and asset freezes on five
more entities for their involvement in missile and nuclear weapons development.
"We believe there have to be consequences," Campbell said, citing the U.S.
efforts to implement the resolution. "We're looking at a full range of particular
steps designed to put pressure on North Korea."
He said sanctions are already proving to be effective. He said the recent
turnback of a North Korean cargo ship, Kang Nam 1, is an example.
The Kang Nam 1 was suspected of carrying illegal weapons to be exported to
probably Myanmar. After its voyage was closely monitored by the U.S. Navy for
weeks, the ship reversed its course and returned to North Korea. The U.N.
Security Council Resolution 1874, adopted after the North's nuclear test on May
25, authorizes member countries to take measures to stop the North's arms trade
by air, land, and sea.
Campbell said it sent a message to North Korea and "caused some pain to the
leadership."
He said it is North Korea that should change its course as it has chosen "lies,
greater tensions, greater hardship for its people, more isolation and a lack of
engagement in the international economy."
On a proposed five-way meeting without North Korea, meanwhile, Campbell said it
is unlikely to be held in the near future.
"I think the U.S. and South Korea have explored the option of a five-party
meeting at some point. Preparations need to be taken for such a meeting. I'm not
sure we'll be ready to do it in Phuket," he said. Some said that the ASEAN
Regional Forum (ARF) to be held in the Thai resort island next week may set the
stage for such a five-way event. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her
counterparts from South Korea, Japan, China, and Russia are scheduled to attend
the ARF.
"But the U.S. and South Korea are busy coordinating our respective positions and
ensure that all the members have an opportunity to interact, if not in a
collective setting, then bilaterally in Thailand," he added.
South Korea supports such a five-way gathering for discussions on how to bring the
North to the disarmament talks but China, which chairs the negotiations, takes a
lukewarm stance apparently due to concerns that it will make the North Koreans
feel more isolated and have a negative impact on the six-party format.
The U.S. official plans to hold a series of meetings with other top South Korean
officials including Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and Unification Minister Hyun
In-taek, on Monday before heading to Thailand later in the day.
Campbell said he will "consult on a wide range of issues, particularly relating
to North Korea to make sure of our common strategy."
His trip comes as the North shows no signs of bowing to the international pressure.
On Saturday, Pyongyang's official news agency KCNA belatedly reported comments by
the country's number two leader Kim Yong-nam at the Non-Aligned Movement summit
of 118 nations in Egypt earlier this week.
"Noting that not only the peace and security of the country but also the dignity
of the nation and sovereignty of the DPRK (North Korea) have been grossly
violated by the high-handed acts of the U.S., Kim asserted that if such acts of
the U.S. are allowed to go on, the DPRK would be totally deprived of the
legitimate right to use space," the KCNA said, referring to the international
condemnation of its failed satellite launch in April.
"The DPRK can never accept dialogue or negotiations minus the principle of
respect for sovereignty and equal sovereignty," Kim was quoted as saying. "The
prevailing situation compelled the DPRK government to take decisive steps to
bolster up its nuclear deterrence."
lcd@yna.co.kr
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