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Four former US ambassadors to South Korea will make a trip to North Korea later this month in an effort to warm the current frigid relations between the two sides. Bilateral ties have been rocky recently, following harsh comments by U.S. President George W. Bush branding the Stalinist state as an "axis of evil".
According to sources in Washington, the four, including Steven Bosworth and Donald Gregg along with an inter-Korean relations expert are slated to visit Pyongyang from February 23 to the 26th. The trip originally set for February 19 through the 22nd was pushed back as it coincided with President Bush's planned visit to Seoul also this month.
In related news, North Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Park Kil Yun told AP and Reuters that his country was prepared to talk to the US at any time, despite Bush's comments. However, Park reiterated that if Washington continued to push hard-line policy and make a military move, the North Korean army and people would have no choice but to follow the hostile standard, especially emphasizing that Pyongyang will not tolerate Washington suggesting conditions prior to entering actual negotiations.
A member of North Korean mission to the UN explained later that the ambassador's remark referred to President Bush's demand to move back the conventional weapons posted along the armistice line.
Park added that the UN mission is ready to act as a liaison channel between Pyongyang and Washington, implying that he is the US' partner in negotiation.
On the resumption of North-South dialogue, Park insisted that as long as South Korean policy is influenced by that of the US, reunification of the Korean peninsula would not make progress. While refusing to comment on North Korea's missile development and exports, Park criticized the US' double standard, calling it hypocritical to be silent on Japan's rocket launch while picking on Pyongyang's missile development.
(From New York, Kim Jae-ho, jaeho@chosun.com )
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