UNDER INCREASING pressure to bargain with the international community, Pyongyang has invited Stephen Bosworth, the US special representative for North Korea, to attend talks on its nuclear programme, according to South Korean media.
North Korea has long been eager for bilateral talks with the US, with officials reminding Washington this month of its interest in meetings with New Mexico governor Bill Richardson and former US president Bill Clinton. But the US has sought to address the nuclear issue through multilateral talks that pull in South Korea, Japan, China and Russia.
Although there was no immediate comment on the report from the Obama administration, it followed an acknowledgement by the US state department of “helpful steps” towards a thaw between North and South Korea.
Pinched by toughened UN sanctions for blasting a missile over Japan in April and detonating an atomic warhead in May, Pyongyang has in recent weeks shown a friendlier face to Seoul and Washington, putting in motion a revival of cross-border projects.
Philip Goldberg, the US co-ordinator for sanctions against North Korea, has been in Asia this week seeking support for stricter measures.
Pyongyang has even said it will deal with South Korean president Lee Myung-bak, in a surprising volte face after 18 months of state media reports calling him a lackey, traitor and sycophant. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009)