North Korea-U.S. Diplomatic Contacts Intensify

U.S. and North Korean nuclear negotiators have made contact three times over the past week to prepare for a new round of six-nation talks, which are expected to begin next week in Beijing, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 22).

There were two diplomatic exchanges last week between the capitals, and another yesterday between U.S. diplomat Joseph DeTrani and the North Korean U.N. delegation in New York, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

McCormack said the negotiators were formulating a draft statement of principles that could potentially lead to a resolution of the standoff.

Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the top U.S. envoy to the talks, met yesterday with Cui Tiankai of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and is scheduled to meet with South Korean and Japanese officials this week, AP reported (Barry Schweid, Associated Press/USA Today, Aug. 22).

Meanwhile, Wu Dawei, China’s chief delegate to the multilateral negotiations, is scheduled to meet his Japanese counterpart, Kenichiro Sasae, tomorrow in Tokyo, Agence France-Presse reported (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Aug. 22).).

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