U.S. lays out goals ahead of talks with N. Korea

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Yonhap) -- The top U.S. diplomat in South Korea on Thursday laid
out the goals her country seeks to achieve when its special envoy on North Korea
visits Pyongyang next week to revive multinational talks aimed at denuclearizing
the Korean Peninsula.
President Barack Obama's senior North Korea envoy, Stephen Bosworth, is set to
fly into Pyongyang on Dec. 8 for a meeting with North Korean Vice Foreign
Minister Kang Sok-ju.
Kathleen Stephens, U.S. ambassador to South Korea, told a forum here that the
trip will "take place in the context of the six-party talks with the purpose of
facilitating early resumption of the six-party talks," which include the two
Koreas, Japan, Russia, China and the U.S.
The trip will also focus on securing North Korea's reaffirmation of a 2005
six-party agreement, she said, adding it includes Pyongyang's "commitment to the
verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner."
The agreement calls for the North's nuclear dismantlement in return for hefty
economic aid, diplomatic recognition and establishment of a permanent peace
regime to replace the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
Stephens, however, ruled out the issue of U.S. forces in South Korea as part of
the negotiations between her country and North Korea, which has called them a
threat to its security and called for their withdrawal.
"We've always been clear that when we talk about the peace regime, or peace
treaty, peace agreement, the issue of the U.S.-R.O.K alliance is not on the
table," she said. "That is a lasting commitment we have, and that is not on the
table."
The R.O.K stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official title.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against
North Korea, which was slapped with a fresh set of U.N. sanctions when it
conducted its second nuclear in May this year.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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