U.S. special envoy concludes visit to DPRK

U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth has concluded his three-day visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The aim of his talks in Pyongyang was to try to convince the DPRK to return to the six-party talks.

U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth (2nd R) is seen at the Sunan Airport before leaving for South Korea, in Pyongyang, December 10, 2009. Bosworth, the first envoy sent by U.S. President Barack Obama to North Korea, ended a three-day trip on Thursday where he said he had a "useful meeting" aimed at bringing Pyongyang back to nuclear  disarmament discussions. REUTERS/Xinhua/Yao Ximeng

President Barack Obama's first envoy to DPRK, Stephen Bosworth, left Pyongyang on Thursday after high-level talks with DPRK officials.

He calls the talks useful, but said he would comment further when he's in the South Korean capital, Seoul.

His three-day mission is an attempt to win the DPRK's commitment to return to the six-party talks on halting Pyongyang's nuclear program.

Following his trip to Pyongyang, Bosworth returns to Seoul, then travels on to Beijing, Tokyo and Moscow. He will fly back to the United States next week.

The DPRK shut down the Yongbyon nuclear facility in 2007 under a six-nation nuclear disarmament deal.

In April, it quit the forum and announced it was resuming the reprocessing of plutonium from spent fuel rods at the reactor there.

The DPRK has expressed its willingness to return to the six-party talks, but only if it holds satisfactory discussions with Washington first.