Top U.S. Envoy to North Korean Nuclear Talks to Visit Washington, Tokyo

AP ^ | 3/6/05 | The Associated Press

[Jean S]

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The top U.S. negotiator for the North Korea nuclear dispute will visit Washington and Tokyo this week to seek ways to lure Pyongyang back to the negotiating table, the U.S Embassy said Monday.

Christopher Hill will meet Kenichiro Sasae, director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asia-Oceania bureau on Thursday, the embassy said. In Washington, Hill is expected to hold consultations on the six-party talks and give a speech at the Brookings Institution and return to South Korea.

The White House said Friday it was nominating Hill as head of the State Department's East Asia and Pacific bureau. The appointment must be approved by the Senate.

Diplomatic efforts to bring back North Korea to the six-party talks gained urgency following the North's Feb. 10 claim that it has nuclear weapons.

Since 2003, Beijing has hosted three rounds of six-party negotiations that have failed to reach any breakthroughs. A fourth round scheduled for last September never took place because North Korea refused to attend. The United States wants the North to dismantle all nuclear facilities immediately before granting concessions.

AP-ES-03-06-05 2258EST

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