US envoy Bosworth arrived in Seoul en route to Pyongyang for talks.

6/12 Tass 66

SEOUL, December 6 (Itar-Tass) - US special envoy for North Korean
policy Steven Bosworth arrived in Seoul on Sunday wherefrom he will depart
for Pyongyang for direct talks with the North Korean leadership.

On December 8, he will fly to Pyongyang by a US military plane from
the US air base in Osan. He will meet North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister
Kang Sok Ju. It is unclear for the time being whether the US envoy will be
received by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il and whether he will visit the
main centre of nuclear testing in Yongbyon, located 100 kilometres north
of the capital.
According to Washington, the main aim of the visit is to convince the
North of the need for returning to the six-party talks on denuclearising
the Korean Peninsula. In Seoul's opinion, chances for success are
ambivalent for Bosworth's mission.
"There are no convincing signals so far, showing readiness of the
North to return to the six-party talks," the Yonhap news agency quotes the
words of a ranking representative of the South Korean Ministry for Foreign
Affairs and Trade. According to the representative, the US does not intend
to discuss the North Korean nuclear problem outside the framework of the
six-party talks with the participation of the two Koreas, the US, China,
Russia and Japan.
According to diplomatic observers in Seoul, Bosworth will not return
empty-handed, since his talks were preceded by several consultations of
Americans in New York with the North Korean mission to the UN. For
instance, late in October head of the US delegation at the six-party talks
Son Kim and director of the American Affairs Bureau of the North Korean
Foreign Ministry Ri Gun discussed there an agenda of Bosworth's future
talks.
An agreement by the North to return to the six-party talks without any
conditions will be an ideal scenario for the US.
North Korea is expected to strive for new specific discussions of a
list of preferences, for which the North may hope under condition of
returning to the negotiating table on denuclearisation. Although the US
insists on one-time direct talks with Pyongyang, Seoul does not preclude a
chance that North Korea will try to hold additional meetings before a
return to the six-party format.
Such talks at the high level may be held in January or February,
claimed director of the Institute for National Security Strategy Nam
Sung-wook. If Bosworth's mission ends in a flop, it is possible to expect
a rise in tension in the Korean Peninsula and a third nuclear test by
Pyongyang.
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