US/Koreas - nuclear talks revival

Obama envoy to visit North Korea in December

Article published on the 2009-11-19 Latest update 2009-11-19 07:45 TU

A South Korean peace activist at a rally Thursday near the presidential Blue House in Seoul
(Photo: Reuters)

A US envoy will visit North Korea on December 8 to try to bring the communist state back to nuclear disarmament talks, President Barack Obama has announced. Meanwhile tension remain between the US and South Korea over a stalled free trade pact.

Speaking after a summit with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, Obama said he would send Ambassador Stephen Bosworth to North Korea on December 8 to “engage in direct talks with the North Koreans”.

Bosworth's mission is to bring the North back to the six-party nuclear disarmament talks which it quit in April, a month before staging a second atomic weapons test.

North Korea meanwhile on Thursday accused American and South Korean troops of stirring up confrontation and tension on the peninsula.

The North has made "sincere" efforts to defuse tensions and improve cross-border relations, reported Rodong Sinmun, the North's ruling communist party newspaper.

"However, the bellicose forces of the United States and South Korea are going ahead with frantic moves for a war of aggression against the DPRK (North Korea). This once again clearly indicates that they are primarily to blame for escalating the military confrontation and tension and increasing the danger of a war."

The US stations 28,500 troops to defend the South against any attack by the North.

Although Obama – on the last stop of his debut Asian tour - and Lee expressed close agreement about their approach to the North, differences remain over a sweeping bilateral free trade agreement. It was signed in June 2007, but is still awaiting Congressional ratification.

Lee for the first time said he is open to more talks to ease concerns among US automakers that the deal is unbalanced. But Obama has cautioned that several issues must still be settled.