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A senior presidential advisor on Monday said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice could visit North Korea in the fall if Pyongyang makes progress in disabling its nuclear facilities. ¡°If the nuclear issue proceeds smoothly at the stage of disablement, I think Rice may possibly visit North Korea around October or November,¡± said Lee Su-hoon, the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Northeast Asian Cooperation Initiatives.
In an interview with PBC Radio, Lee said, "If Rice visits the North, it will have ripple effects for the whole of the political situation in Northeast Asia. The North will send an official on a reciprocal visit to the U.S. in whatever form, and inter-Korean relations will also undergo a sea change."
He held out hope for a meeting in late July or early August of foreign ministers from the six nations in nuclear talks. "The ASEAN Regional Forum is scheduled for early August. We are consulting with the U.S. to have a separate meeting before that,¡± he said.
As a result, an inter-Korean summit ¡°will be easier and cost less if we take advantage of some momentum or event to realize it,¡± Lee said. ¡°If there is momentum for a four-way summit between the two Koreas, the U.S., and China, we can take advantage of the APEC summit¡± in October.
Meanwhile, North Korea finally has its funds from a Macau-based bank in hand after a trip around the world. In an interview carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, a spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Ministry said, "The funds held at Banco Delta Asia in Macau have been transferred to us, as we demanded, to clear away the major obstacle. The funds will be used for the improvement of the people's livelihood and for humanitarian purposes."
The decision to free the money had first been announced by U.S. Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser as long ago as March 19. At the time, he said North Korea had pledged to use the funds only to improve the North Korean people's livelihood and for humanitarian and educational purposes.
The spokesman continued, "With the fund issue resolved, we will get on with the implementation of¡± a Feb. 13 six-agreement to dismantle the North¡¯s nuclear program. ¡°As part of our efforts, we will consult with a working-level IAEA delegation in Pyongyang beginning Tuesday on the shutdown of nuclear facilities and its verification and monitoring."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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