US envoy holds talks in South Korea

In news from the Korean peninsula The US envoy to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Stephen Bosworth, and South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, Wi Sung-Lac, have held talks in Seoul.

Their discussions come a day before Bosworth is set to visit Pyongyang for meetings to coordinate the upcoming US-DPRK bilateral dialogue.

Bosworth made no comment but a Foreign Ministry spokesman says they reconfirmed that the US-DPRK talks will focus on resuming the six-party talks. The meetings between Washington and Pyongyang will also try to secure the DPRK's reaffirmation of the Joint Statement of September 2005. The DPRK promised in that statement to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs in return for economic aid and diplomatic recognition.

Moon Tae-Young, Spokesman of South Korean Foreign Ministry, said, "For now, it's difficult to predict the outcome of his trip, but we hope there will be good results, including the DPRK's return to the six-party-talks as soon as possible."

The two sides also confirmed the package solution will be discussed with the DPRK based on its irreversible de-nuclearization only after it comes back to the six-party talks.

Hyun In-Take, South Korean Unification Ministry, said, "If Pyongyang truly wants to improve the South-North relationship, it has to remove its obscurity. The main point is its truthfulness in holding all kinds of dialogues including the willingness and determination in solving the nuclear issue."

The US envoy's three-day visit to Pyongyang will be the first formal bilateral talks between the US and the DPRK since President Obama took office in January.

Bosworth will return to Seoul then visit Beijing, Tokyo and Moscow before flying back to the US next week.