World US envoy may take disarmament plan to Pyongyang 2009-Dec-7 10:45:27
SEOUL/TOKYO：The Unites States, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) are working on a road map for ending the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear arms plans that will be on the agenda of a US envoy who is to visit Pyongyang this week, Japan's Asahi newspaper reported.
Stephen Bosworth, the first envoy sent by US President Barack Obama to the DPRK, is expected to arrive in Pyongyang on Tuesday for a three-day stay where he will likely meet top?DPRK's officials but not leader Kim Jong-il.
Analysts expect the visit to result in a pledge from?Pyongyang that it will return to disarmament-for-aid talks but few expect any breakthroughs in a sputtering six-way nuclear deal aimed at ending the state's?nuclear ambitions.
The course set for the next several years in the road map includes the removal of DPRK's nuclear facilities, the disposal of its nuclear?material, and the verification of its nuclear program, the newspaper said on Monday, citing unnamed sources.
Analysts said President Barack Obama's administration may have the upper hand. Fresh UN sanctions, imposed as a result of the DPRK's nuclear test in May, and US Treasury action that has targeted its finances have further hurt Pyongyang.
Prior to his visit, Bosworth consulted with ROK officials in Seoul. After he returns from Pyongyang, he is slated to brief the other parties in the nuclear negotiations -- China, Japan, Russia and ROK -- before heading to Washington.