UN envoy arrives in North Korea to spur nuke talks

By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer Kwang-tae Kim, Associated Press Writer – 36 mins ago

North Korea‘s top nuclear envoy, Kim Kye Gwan, flew to Beijing earlier in the day to discuss nuclear talks with Chinese officials.

"This is a sign that the resumption of the six-party talks is imminent," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. "Kim Kye Gwan is expected to tell Chinese officials about North Korea‘s disarmament plan in a more concrete manner" — probably in return for aid from Beijing, he said.

Pascoe said the aim of his visit was to find "ways we can cooperate better," according to the footage. "So it should be quite useful we hope."

The four-day visit came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il renewed his country‘s commitment to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula during a meeting with top Chinese Communist Party official Wang Jiarui.

Pyongyang, however, has been reaching out to Washington, Seoul and Beijing in recent months, and has taken tentative steps toward discussing how to get the process going again. Analysts say the about-face shows the regime is feeling the pinch from sanctions taken after its May nuclear test.

Wang delivered to Kim a letter from Chinese President Hu Jintao that said Beijing also was ready to enhance cooperation and work with North Korea to maintain peace and stability on the peninsula, Xinhua said. Hu also invited Kim to visit China, the report said.

Ma said he had no information on the North Korean nuclear envoy‘s reported trip to Beijing.

North Korea has made clear it wants U.N. sanctions lifted and a peace treaty with Washington formally ending the 1950-1953 Korean War before it returns to the disarmament talks. Pyongyang cites the U.S. military presence in South Korea as its main reason for building up its nuclear weapons program.

Paik predicted that North Korea and the U.S. would meet soon for "final coordination" to reopen the six-party talks that involve the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan.

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Associated Press writers Hyung-jin Kim, Hongkeun Jeon in Seoul, South Korea, and Alexa Olesen in Beijing contributed to this report.



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