U.S. reluctant to confirm Bosworth's possible visit to DPRK

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department declined on Monday to confirm a report that Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), will soon visit Pyongyang.

Speaking to reporters, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said that he had no announcement to make on any travel by Bosworth.

However, a senior official in the State Department, who asked not to be identified, said earlier that the Obama administration will make a decision soon to send Bosworth to the DPRK in a bid to persuade Pyongyang to return to the nuclear disarmament talks.

Pyongyang has time and again expressed its eagerness to have face-to-face talks with U.S. officials. In response, U.S. officials said that they are willing to have bilateral meetings with their DPRK counterparts on condition that such meetings should lead to the resumption of six-party nuclear disarmament talks.

The United States has been urging the DPRK to give up nuclear arms for years. Although it agrees to be open to have dialogue with Pyongyang, the Obama administration insists that Pyongyang must agree to return to the six-party talks which was designed to realize the denuclearization on the Korean peninsula.

The six-party talks involve China, the United States, the DPRK, Russia, South Korea and Japan.