Posted on 10/16/2009 6:32:41 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
The United States said on Friday it would allow a senior North Korean official to visit this month, a move analysts said could be a first step toward talks between the two on ending Pyongyang's nuclear programs.
The State Department said it had decided to grant a visa to Ri Gun, North Korea's No. 2 official at multilateral talks on its nuclear programs, to attend meetings in New York and San Diego with private scholars and experts who study North Korea.
The department said nothing about the possibility of talks between U.S. and North Korean officials, but a source familiar with the matter said there was a high probability U.S. diplomat Sung Kim would meet informally with Ri on his trip.
The United States hopes a bilateral dialogue may bring North Korea, which carried out its second nuclear test in May, back to wider talks on abandoning its nuclear programs.
The six-party talks involve the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States but have been stalled since North Korea said six months ago it was quitting them.
The North recently telegraphed it wanted better relations with Washington, freeing two jailed U.S. journalists in August and signaling 10 days ago that it could return to the six-way talks but wanted to talk to the United States first.
It is unclear what may have triggered the recent warming.
After Pyongyang conducted its second nuclear test, the U.N. Security Council imposed fresh sanctions on North Korea that are designed to restrict its arms sales, which provide a vital source of hard currency for the impoverished country.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Watch for implanted camera
That squeezing feeling, is the communist fist tightening around our throats and of our children and grandchildren.
Gee Louize who approval this deal
Our Dear Leader himself????
I wonder if he’s fixing to defect.
bttt
I wonder if he’s fixing to defect.
My thought exactly. Anyway, I’m sure he’ll have the best meal he’s eaten in ages.
I meant to post this also, as Breaking, with a link to Japanese TV tonight about it.
Gee maybe former DPRK hostage (and unrepentant liberal) TV reporter Laura Ling could fly down to San Diego and interview him for CurrentTV on the new, improved US-Gulag Relations under Obama. How convenient.
How about a San Diego FREEP of the NORTH KOREANS when they arrive, or in front of whatever facility they are meeting in when in California??
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