U.S., N. Korean Officials Again Hold N.Y. Talks

WASHINGTON —  U.S. and North Korean officials met Monday in New York at the request of the North Koreans, State Department officials said, the second meeting in a month between the two countries at a time of high tensions over the communist state’s refusal to return to nuclear disarmament talks.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the North Koreans had contacted U.S. officials Friday to request the meeting. McCormack could not say whether Monday’s meeting was one of a series of working-level sessions that have taken place between the countries or whether it represented a breakthrough.

McCormack, speaking to reporters aboard Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s plane as she returned to Washington from a meeting of the Organization of American States in Florida, said the U.S. officials at the meeting had been in “listening mode” and had not offered the North Koreans any inducements or promises to rejoin the talks, which also include South Korea, Russia, China and Japan.

A senior Asian diplomat who had been briefed on the meeting said North Korea had not indicated whether it intended to rejoin the six-nation talks, which have been stalled for nearly a year.

“At this stage, I would not say we are more optimistic or pessimistic [about North Korea’s intentions]. I don’t think we will be able to draw a lot of conclusions out of the New York meeting. This is part of an ongoing dialogue,” said the diplomat, who asked not to be identified.

Monday’s meeting included the same U.S. and North Korean officials as a May 13 meeting, also held in New York. On the U.S. side were Joseph R. DeTrani, the chief U.S. negotiator on North Korea, along with James Foster, director of the State Department’s Office of Korean Affairs.

Representing North Korea were its U.N. representative, Pak Gil Yon, and his deputy, Han Song Ryol. The four met at North Korea’s mission in New York.

The U.N. mission officials are considered among the most “sophisticated and urbane” of the North Korean diplomatic corps and have often been used as a conduit for back-channel communications between Washington and Pyongyang, said Donald Gregg, a former U.S. ambassador to South Korea. As head of the New York-based Korea Society, Gregg has frequently been involved in such meetings.

“I think the State Department at this stage is trying to grab any running room they have to establish a civil dialogue with the North Koreans,” Gregg said. “I don’t have the sense that we are headed for a big breakthrough, but the pot is boiling and there may be some slight movement.”

In the past, the Bush administration has been adamant that it would not negotiate one-on-one with North Korea. But in recent weeks, with relations deteriorating into a war of words and American intelligence warning that Pyongyang might be planning a nuclear test, there has been pressure on the White House to be more flexible.

“We have voiced our opinion in favor of more conversation and dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang,” said a South Korean official, who did not want to be identified. “This direct contact should be helpful.”

Several Japanese officials struck a hopeful tone about the prospect of resuming the six-party talks.

“I think [North Korea] wants in its heart to resolve the nuclear issue by holding a six-party session, by all means,” Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters, according to Japan’s Kyodo News agency.

Koizumi’s hint of optimism followed vague statements from Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda that “North Korea has apparently been impressed” by diplomatic efforts from the other parties to the talks.

“We consider that some moves have been seen,” Hosoda said. He did not elaborate.

Akira Chiba, a spokesman for Japan’s Foreign Ministry, said, “There is no one big chunk of information -- just small pieces rolling around that makes us believe North Korea might want to return to the table.”

The New York meeting took place a day after top U.S. officials sent seemingly conflicting signals about Washington’s plans for dealing with North Korea. A senior Defense official said Saturday that the United States could decide by next month to abandon the talks and take the matter to the United Nations, which could impose sanctions. But Rice said the next day that the Defense official’s comments were too “forward-leaning.”

On Monday, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said sanctions are not the only option and that the international community should consider using the U.N. Security Council to urge North Korea to return to the negotiation table if talks did not resume soon, Kyodo News reported.

The last round of six-party talks took place in Beijing at the end of June 2004. North Korea has refused to schedule another round, citing a hostile attitude on the part of the Bush administration.

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Richter reported from Washington and Demick from Seoul. Staff writer Bruce Wallace in Tokyo contributed to this report.