U.S. to begin talks with North Korea

By State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel and Producer Elise Labbot

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States and North Korea will discuss the possibility of missile talks when officials from representatives of both countries meet in New York Wednesday, the State Department said in a statement Tuesday.

Jack Pritchard, the State Department's new special envoy for Korean peace talks, will lead the U.S. delegation. He will meet with Li Hyong Chol, the North Korean ambassador to the United Nations, to arrange bilateral talks, the State Department said.

Last week President Bush unveiled the administration's new policy toward North Korea, saying the United States is ready to move forward on talks on North Korea's missile program, its proliferation of missile technology to nations considered dangerous by the United States and its troop presence along the Demilitarized Zone that borders South Korea.

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The senior State Department official said the impending meetings in New York are a "follow-up" to the president's announcement. The official said the talks will provide an opportunity to discuss the new U.S. policy with the North Koreans, explain that the United States is willing to have serious discussions and judge the North's willingness to engage in a renewed dialogue.

Meeting to pave way for future talks

While the meeting could pave the way for future missile talks between the two countries, State Department officials point out the two sides already have been holding continuing bi-lateral communications through their respective missions at the United Nations.

In March, the administration launched a review of U.S. policy toward the communist state, questioning dialogue begun under the Clinton administration and openly wondering if North Korea's government could be trusted to uphold signed agreements. Those comments stalled continued dialogue between North and South Korea on ways to reduce tensions and move toward eventual reconciliation.

South Korea welcomed the new policy, saying that the new approach could help its own relations with North Korea and expressing hope that the United States will engage the North in a meaningful and useful dialogue in coordination with South Korea.

Ultimately, the new policy closely resembles the previous administration's decision to engage North Korea, but with a strong emphasis on verifying North Korean compliance with any controls on nuclear weapons and proliferation that may be included in agreements between the two sides

"I have directed my national security team to undertake serious discussions with North Korea on a broad agenda," President Bush said in a statement released last week. "Our approach will offer North Korea the opportunity to demonstrate the seriousness of its desire for improved relations."

Powell: 'no preconditions'

The president said that if "North Korea responds affirmatively and takes appropriate action, we will expand our efforts to help the North Korean people."

Secretary of State Colin Powell said last week the United States is "not prepared to start affecting the talks with preconditions" on the agenda, but that the North's troop presence along the DMZ would be a main topic on the agenda

Powell also held out the possibility of a meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sam on the sidelines of a meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers in Vietnam next month, but said it is still a bit soon to speculate on it.

Successful talks with the North Koreans could have implications for Bush's push for a regional anti-ballistic missile defense system, since North Korea is often cited by proponents as a nation that could threaten the United States with nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles. U.S. officials have said, however, that other nations also pose a potential threat, among them Iran and Iraq.