U.S. envoy: U.S.-DPRK dialogue possible but only within six-party talks framework

SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special envoy for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) policies, said on Sunday that his country is prepared for bilateral talks with Pyongyang but such direct dialogue should come only in the context of the six-party process, stressing the necessary of enhancing multilateral cooperation to deal with the nuclear issue on Korean Peninsula.

U.S. special envoy to DPRK, Stephen Bosworth (front), and Sung Kim, top U.S. nuclear negotiator, leave after their meeting with South Korean nuclear envoy to DPRK, Wi Sung-lac, at the foreign ministry in Seoul September 5, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters, File Photo)

"We are prepared to engage bilaterally with North Koreans (DPRK) but only within the context of six-party talks," Bosworth told local media after meeting with several South Korean senior officials in Seoul.

The U.S. envoy said that Pyongyang which recently took so-called "two-track" tactics failed to show any fundamental change in its attitude on nuclear issue.

"We are very gratified that young American journalists have been released, but our primary interest remains the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and we continue to (support) opportunities to reinitiate this process," Bosworth was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying.