U.S.-N. Korea meeting called 'businesslike'

From Andrea Koppel
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States said a high-level meeting Wednesday between a U.S. envoy and a North Korean diplomat was a "useful" start, but officials did not know when a follow-up meeting might take place.

"The meeting was businesslike and a useful beginning to the dialogue process," said State Department spokesman Philip Reeker. Such diplomatic expressions are frequently used to describe a meeting that did not accomplish much.

Few details were provided about the lunchtime meeting between U.S. envoy Jack Pritchard and North Korea's U.N. Ambassador, Li Hyong Chol. The two met at an undisclosed location in New York to discuss the possibility of resuming missile talks.

Reeker said the United States did "expect discussions to continue," but said no details of further steps were available. Pritchard is expected back in Washington on Wednesday evening.

In an about-face last week, President Bush announced he was ready to open talks with North Korea on its nuclear program, conventional military forces and weapons proliferation.

In March, the administration launched a review of U.S. policy toward the communist state, questioning the 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.

Secretary of State Colin Powell has said the new policy is "supportive" of South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's "very bold" efforts to engage the North, adding the review was done in close "consultation and coordination" with South Korea and Japan.

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 in any agreements between the two sides.

Powell 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.

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.