U.S. envoy says Washington poised to talk with N. Korea

(ATTN: UPDATES with more quotes, background)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. special envoy on North Korea said Sunday that
Washington is "prepared" for bilateral talks with Pyongyang but such direct
dialogue should come only within the six-party framework.
Stephen Bosworth also said North Korea's claim to be furthering its uranium
enrichment program is "not the first we've heard of."
"We are prepared to engage bilaterally with North Koreans but only within the
context of six-party talks," Bosworth said in Seoul after three-day consultations
with South Korean officials.
Just hours before Bosworth's arrival in Seoul on Friday, North Korea renewed its
nuclear warning, saying its uranium enrichment program, a second route to
building nuclear weapons alongside a plutonium-based one, has entered into
"completion phase." The North also said it was weaponizing plutonium obtained
from reprocessing spent fuel rods.
Bosworth said North Korea's uranium enrichment program is "a concern," but he
added this was "not the first we heard of HEU," or highly enriched uranium, in
the country.
Contrary to North Korea's recent conciliatory gestures, Bosworth said he saw no
flexibility in the North's stance on its nuclear weapons program. North Korea
freed two detained American journalists during former U.S. President Bill
Clinton's trip on Aug 4, and followed up with a string of fence-mending steps
toward South Korea, such as lifting cross-border traffic rules and restoring
sagging joint business ventures.
"No, I don't think there's been any fundamental change," Bosworth said.
"We are very gratified that young American journalists have been released," he
said, "But our primary interest remains the denuclearization of the Korean
Peninsula, and we continue to (support) opportunities to reinitiate this
process."
Bosworth said he was "pleased with the level of coordination" with South Korean
partners, including Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and chief nuclear envoy Wi
Sung-lac, with whom he held talks during his three-day visit.
Bosworth came here on the second leg of his three-nation Asian tour that began in
Beijing and will take him to Tokyo later in the day. His visit is aimed at
discussing ways to resume the six-party talks and the implementation of U.N.
Security Council Resolution 1874 imposed over North Korea's nuclear test in May.
The six-party talks, which were last held in December, involve the two Koreas,
the U.S., China, Japan and Russia.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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