No schedule set for dialogue with N. Korea: U.S. official

0 Comments | Asian Political News, April 22, 2002

WASHINGTON, April 18 Kyodo

The United States currently has no plans to resume stalled talks with North Korea, State Department deputy spokesman Philip Reeker said Thursday.

''We've heard the reports from the South Koreans that North Korea may be interested in moving ahead with a dialogue with us, the dialogue that we've offered without any conditions. But we had not yet heard from North Korea on that,'' Reeker said at a press briefing.

After returning from a four-day visit to Pyongyang, South Korean special envoy Lim Don Won told a news conference on April 6 in Seoul that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il intends to resume dialogue with the U.S. by accepting a visit by U.S. special envoy for Korean peace talks Jack Pritchard.

A State Department official, meanwhile, said the U.S. welcomes promotion of dialogue between Japan and North Korea, referring to a planned meeting of their Red Cross societies.

Japan and North Korea said Thursday they will hold bilateral Red Cross talks on April 29-30 in Beijing to discuss Tokyo's allegations that North Korean agents abducted Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, among other issues.