North Korea to talk with US

A SENIOR North Korean official will visit the US this week to discuss the possible resumption of long-stalled international negotiations on ending Pyongyang’s nuclear programmes, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday.

The news that diplomats could be close to reviving six-nation disarmament talks that broke off in 2008 comes after more than a year of animosity and high tension between the rival Koreas and raises hopes in a region on edge.

Two attacks Seoul blames on Pyongyang last year killed 50 South Koreans and led to threats of war.

Clinton’s invitation for North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan to visit New York follows a crucial meeting on Friday between nuclear negotiators from North and South Korea.

The diplomacy follows more than a year of hardline unity between Washington and Seoul towards North Korea.