In a press conference at the U.S. Embassy's Reference Services Center in Seoul, Negroponte said he spent time in China and Japan gathering ideas about a peace framework for Korea. He said if the Korean Peninsula is denuclearized, it will be possible to bring stability to the area through “the will to discuss” a durable peace to replace the 1953 armistice that still officially halts hostilities.

Vice Foreign Minister Cho Jung-pyo and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte shake hands before lunch at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul Tuesday morning.

Negroponte said there were no “concrete” plans for a U.S. government official to visit North Korea. But he strongly hinted at the possibility of the chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill going to Pyongyang, saying it would not be surprising if “a member of a working group” should visit Pyongyang given the many diplomatic activities, including unofficial talks, that are ongoing. Hill together with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan kick-started a working group on normalizing bilateral diplomatic ties in Washington this week.

Negroponte apparently contradicted press reports that U.S. intelligence officials are no longer certain North Korea has a uranium enrichment program. "I have no doubt that North Korea has had a highly enriched uranium program, and that has been and continues to be the judgment of our intelligence community,” Negroponte said. He added things would become clearer when North Korea reports on its nuclear facilities and programs in compliance with the Feb. 13 six-party agreement.

The diplomat added he exchanged valuable opinions with South Korean officials on the Korea-U.S. alliance and the role of the U.S. Forces Korea. He said the alliance changes constantly, and the two countries will undergo a necessary adjustment period to strengthen their alliance in a “spirit of cooperation."

(englishnews@chosun.com )