Home>News Center>World | ||
US, N.Korean officials meet in NY
TOKYO - U.S. officials met with North Korean officials in New York last week to discuss American policy toward North Korea, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said in a statement Thursday. "We can confirm that we had working-level contact with North Korean officials on Friday, May 13, in New York," the statement said. "This channel is used to convey messages about U.S. policy, not to negotiate." The embassy did not elaborate. The United States, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia are trying to persuade North Korea to return to six-nation talks on its nuclear weapons programs. The talks have been stalled since last year. A report in Japan's Asahi newspaper on Thursday said senior U.S. State Department officials told North Korean officials that Washington recognizes the North as a sovereign nation under the leadership of Kim Jong Il. The U.S. officials also told the North Korean side that the administration of President Bush does not intend to attack North Korea, the Asahi said. The report said the meeting took place at North Korea's representative office at the United Nations. The Boston Globe reported in its Thursday edition that the meeting was
attended by Joseph DiTrani, the U.S. special envoy to the six-nation nuclear
talks, as well as Jim Foster, the head of the State Department's Office of
Korean Affairs. |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||