North Korean representatives at the UN will contact US officials soon to ascertain the "true intention" of recent remarks by President George W. Bush on security assurances for the communist state, a diplomatic source with close ties to Pyongyang said in Tokyo yesterday.
The source said North Korea, which has described Bush's most recent assurances as "laughable," wanted more details before deciding whether to take part in a new round of six-nation talks on its nuclear weapons program.
Bush, shifting policy in an apparent attempt to re-energize the talks, offered Pyongyang unspecified security assurances for the first time this week but ruled out meeting its demand for a non-aggression treaty.
"The representatives in New York will contact American government officials soon," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The North wants to know the true intention of Bush's remarks," the source said.
He said North Korea would decide whether to resume talks on its nuclear arms program after the behind-the-scenes contacts.
South Korean Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun said yesterday that North Korea had complained that Washington had refused to contact Pyongyang since six-way talks in August.
Jeong, speaking in Seoul, quoted a North Korean official as telling a South Korean delegation in Pyongyang last week: "Recently, the US has been refusing New York contacts. We have no choice but to demand dialogue in our own way."
Before stepping down in August, Charles "Jack" Pritchard, acting as US special envoy for North Korea, was in contact with North Korean officials in New York about once a week, the diplomatic source in Tokyo said.
The US, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan are seeking to draw North Korea back to the negotiating table but Pyongyang has made no firm commitments.
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