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U.S. team heads for N. Korea talks
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A high-level U.S. delegation is now headed to China for talks with North Korea on Pyongyang's nuclear program and how to bring stability to the Korean peninsula. The talks, to be held in Beijing, will begin Wednesday and conclude Friday. It will mark the first high-level discussions between the United States and North Korea since October, when a U.S. official confronted Pyongyang with intelligence that it had an active program to enrich uranium. "North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons is a matter of great concern to the entire international community, and especially to countries in the region, all of whom are interested in participating directly in the talks," U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in a statement late Monday. Boucher said it was "essential" that South Korea and Japan be included in any agreement reached in the talks and that the U.S. would keep in "close consultation" with those countries. U.S. officials said they do not expect a breakthrough during the talks, but one senior official said there is "reason for a little bit of optimism" because China, the country with the most leverage over North Korea, will be involved. The U.S. delegation will be led by the same official who confronted Pyongyang about its nuclear program -- Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs James Kelly. Kelly intends to deliver a tough message, officials said, telling North Korea it must end its production of nuclear weapons and establish an intrusive inspections regime. The North Korean delegation will be headed by Deputy Director General Li Gun from the American Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Chinese delegation will be led by Fu Ying, the director general for Asian Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the eve of talks, the commander of U.S. forces in South Korea on Tuesday described Pyongyang as a threat to global stability, Reuters reports. General Leon LaPorte, who commands the 37,000 U.S. troops based in South Korea, told the Korea Freedom League the current demarcation line between the two nations "is the most heavily armed in the world and it remains an arena for potential confrontation." Meanwhile, nuclear issues are likely to be high on the agenda when South and North Korean officials get together to discuss joint economic and industrial projects, Seoul officials tell CNN. South Korea's Ministry of Unification announced Monday that it had accepted a North Korean proposal for direct talks set to begin next Sunday with cabinet-level officials in Pyongyang. In calling for the inter-Korean meetings, Pyongyang may have been extending an olive branch to its southern neighbor, some analysts believe. North Korea wants rice and fertilizer aid from Seoul, which could give South Korea leverage with Pyongyang. These talks are set for April 27-29.
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