US President George W. Bush, despite deep suspicion of a country he considers part of an "axis of evil," will soon send an envoy to North Korea to reopen security talks with Pyongyang for the first time in almost two years.
The decision was reached after two days of talks earlier this week with North Korean officials. Bush notified South Korean President Kim Dae-jung of his decision during a telephone call on Wednesday. Officials said the envoy will travel to Pyongyang at an early date.
Bush and Kim "agreed that real progress with the North depends on full resolution of the security issues on the Korean Peninsula, including the North's possession and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said.
The identity of the US envoy who will travel to Pyongyang has not been disclosed but it is expected to be Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly.
Kelly was to have gone to Pyongyang in early July but the visit was postponed, partly because a bloody clash at sea on June 29 between vessels of the two Koreas soured the environment.
No one is expecting early progress once the security talks with Pyongyang resume, and Fleischer made no effort to soft pedal US concerns about North Korea.
"Nothing has changed in the president's thinking about North Korean President Kim Jong-il and the North Korean leader's starvation of his own people, the militarization efforts that he's leading, the massive number of conventional weapons that he has on the border with South Korea, as well as proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," he said.
US-North Korean relations reached a high point two years ago when then-secretary of state Madeleine Albright made a groundbreaking visit to Pyongyang.
She discussed the possibility of a deal under which the US would provide economic benefits to the North if Pyongyang agreed to curb its development and export of long range missiles. The talks were inconclusive.
In June 2001, Bush said he was willing to reopen talks with North Korea but the North offered no response.
Any inclination the North may have had to accept the offer was set back after Bush in January listed Pyongyang as a member of an "axis of evil" that also included Iraq and Iran.
In the spring, however, the North began showing interest in renewing dialogue with Washington.
Meanwhile, South Korea yesterday welcomed the US decision to dispatch a senior envoy to North Korea.
President Kim has pushed for Washington's reengagement with North Korea as essential to his signature "Sunshine Policy" of reconciliation with Pyongyang.
"We welcome the resumption of dialogue at an early date which will contribute to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula," said foreign ministry spokesman Kim Eui-taek.
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