Preparations under way for
N. Korean official's U.S. visitBy Jim Lea
Osan bureau chief
South Korean, Japanese and U.S. officials will meet Saturday in Washington to map out a strategy for the upcoming visit of a senior North Korean official.
Cho Myong Rok, vice chairman of North Korea’s National Defense Commission, is scheduled to meet with President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright during next week’s four-day visit. In that position, Rok ranks second only to Kim Jong Il.
Officials attending the strategy meeting will include South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Jang Jai-ryong, Japanese Deputy Vice Minister Yukio Takauchi and Wendy Sherman, U.S. State Department counselor who was recently named North Korean policy coordinator.
Cho will be the highest-ranking North Korean official ever to visit the United States. He apparently is making the trip at the invitation of former U.S. North Korean policy coordinator William Perry. Perry extended the offer to North Korea last year to discuss new policy initiatives.
Perry’s policy recommendations are said to include economic and diplomatic benefits if Pyongyang stopped its missile and suspected nuclear weapons development programs, and if it opens dialogue with Seoul.
The South-North dialogue was reopened in June with the Inter-Korean Summit. One agreement to emerge from the talks was that the militaries of the two countries will cooperate in restoring rail service and build a highway across the Demilitarized Zone.
South Korean officials are said to be concerned that Cho’s visit to Washington is an indication Pyongyang wants to deal with the United States on security matters and with South Korea only on economic issues.
In television and newspaper commentaries, South Korean analysts on inter-Korean relations have said that Cho may attempt to set up a new dialogue channel with Washington that cuts out Seoul.
His discussions in Washington almost certainly will include Pyongyang’s desire to be removed from the U.S. list of states that sponsor terrorism. North Korea claims economic sanctions resulting from being on the list are stifling its economy.
Bae Gi-chul contributed to this report.
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