ID :
196348
Thu, 07/21/2011 - 17:09
Auther :
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http://m.oananews.org//node/196348
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U.S. denies seeking meeting with N. Korea+
NUSA DUA, Indonesia, July 21 Kyodo -
A senior U.S. official is seeking talks with a senior North Korean official in Bali, Indonesia, on the sidelines of a series of regional foreign ministerial meetings, a diplomatic source said Thursday, but the U.S. State Department denies that Washington has asked Pyongyang for a meeting.
The source said Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, has asked North Korea for a meeting, paving the way for possible contact between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun on the sidelines of a regional security meeting in Bali this weekend.
As South Korea is calling on North Korea to hold a bilateral foreign ministerial meeting, the United States appears to be taking the opportunity in Bali to lay the groundwork for the resumption of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs.
''The United States government categorically denies reports that the U.S. is seeking a meeting with the DPRK at the ASEAN Regional Forum,'' Heide Bronke Fulton, acting deputy spokeswoman, said in a statement.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the formal name of North Korea.
The denuclearization talks involving North and South Korea, China, the United States, Japan and Russia have been stalled since December 2008.
According to the diplomatic source, the United States proposed holding a dinner meeting with North Korea on Wednesday, but the meeting was not realized.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and countries, including China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Russia and the United States, will hold a ministerial ASEAN Regional Forum meeting Saturday on the Indonesian resort island to discuss security issues.
Clinton and Pak are among the ministers scheduled to attend the ARF meeting.
==Kyodo
A senior U.S. official is seeking talks with a senior North Korean official in Bali, Indonesia, on the sidelines of a series of regional foreign ministerial meetings, a diplomatic source said Thursday, but the U.S. State Department denies that Washington has asked Pyongyang for a meeting.
The source said Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, has asked North Korea for a meeting, paving the way for possible contact between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun on the sidelines of a regional security meeting in Bali this weekend.
As South Korea is calling on North Korea to hold a bilateral foreign ministerial meeting, the United States appears to be taking the opportunity in Bali to lay the groundwork for the resumption of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs.
''The United States government categorically denies reports that the U.S. is seeking a meeting with the DPRK at the ASEAN Regional Forum,'' Heide Bronke Fulton, acting deputy spokeswoman, said in a statement.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the formal name of North Korea.
The denuclearization talks involving North and South Korea, China, the United States, Japan and Russia have been stalled since December 2008.
According to the diplomatic source, the United States proposed holding a dinner meeting with North Korea on Wednesday, but the meeting was not realized.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and countries, including China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Russia and the United States, will hold a ministerial ASEAN Regional Forum meeting Saturday on the Indonesian resort island to discuss security issues.
Clinton and Pak are among the ministers scheduled to attend the ARF meeting.
==Kyodo
