U.S., N. Korea Had Sit Down

U.S. officials met with North Korean officials in New York last week, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said Thursday, in an apparent effort to draw the volatile nation back into six-nation nuclear talks.

Meanwhile, the two Koreas concluded their first face-to-face talks in 10 months Thursday without making any progress on the impasse over the North's nuclear program, although they did agree to hold Cabinet-level talks next month.

A statement issued after the two-day meeting ended said both nations agreed to work for peace on the Korean Peninsula. It said a follow-up Cabinet-level meeting would be held June 21-24 in Seoul, and South Korea would begin providing 200,000 tons of fertilizer to the North starting May 21.

Last week's meeting in New York, reportedly at the North Korean representative office at the United Nations, came as concerns are mounting that the reclusive regime is moving toward extracting weapons-grade plutonium and could be preparing for a nuclear test.

"We can confirm that we had working-level contact with North Korean officials on Friday, May 13, in New York," an embassy official said. "This channel is used to convey messages about U.S. policy, not to negotiate."

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, did not elaborate.

Kyodo News agency, citing anonymous sources, reported that the North Korean side said in the meeting that it would have a response to the discussions in two weeks.

The United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia are trying to persuade North Korea to return to six-nation talks on its nuclear weapons programs. The talks have been stalled since June, and North Korea has boycotted efforts to arrange a new session.

The last time U.S. officials had contact with North Korean officials appeared to be a January congressional delegation to Pyongyang led by Rep. Curt Weldon, vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

Weldon, R-Pa., said after that trip that North Korea appeared ready to negotiate "in a matter of weeks."

The Bush administration earlier this month offered a couple of carrots to the North — direct talks and recognition of its sovereignty — in a bid to derail its nuclear weapons program.

But Washington has also talked tough with Pyongyang, saying that a nuclear test would be punished, and that the U.S. had not ruled out bringing the case before the U.N. Security Council for consideration of sanctions.

The Boston Globe reported in its Thursday edition that Friday's meeting was attended by Joseph DiTrani, the U.S. special envoy to the six-nation nuclear talks, and Jim Foster, the head of the State Department's Office of Korean Affairs.

Japan's Asahi newspaper reported in its Thursday evening edition that senior U.S. State Department officials told North Korean officials in the meeting that Washington recognizes North Korea as a sovereign nation under the leadership of Kim Jong Il.

The U.S. officials also told the North Korean side that the administration of President Bush does not intend to attack North Korea, the Asahi said.

South Korea was also trying to get Pyongyang to rejoin six-nation negotiations on the denuclearization during their meetings in the North Korean border town of Kaesong, but the reclusive communist country — which regularly uses brinksmanship to wring aid from the West — was clearly resisting any public commitment.

South Korea had found itself walking a tightrope during the talks, trying to appease domestic pressure for some improvement in relations with the North.

"An agreement will be reached," North Korea's chief negotiator Kim Man Gil said.

However, an agreement seemed more likely on setting up the Cabinet-level meeting next month than any real progress on breaking the nuclear impasse.

Vice Unification Minister Rhee Bong-jo, head of the South's delegation, reported he brought up the nuclear issue again, as he said he has during every session since the talks opened on Monday.

"We repeatedly emphasized that North Korea return to the peaceful resolution of North Korean nuclear issue and the fourth round of six-party talks," Rhee told reporters.

On Monday, South Korea promised a major new "proposal" if the North returns to the nuclear bargaining table. No details on the proposal were given, but South Korean media speculated that Seoul would offer massive aid to the North.

U.S. officials reported last week that spy satellites spotted construction of a tunnel and a reviewing stand in North Korea — possible indications of a coming nuclear test. South Korean officials have dismissed such reports as lacking firm evidence.