WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- US special envoy for the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea Joseph DeTrani called for resumption
of the six-party talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear issue at a meeting
with DPRK's ambassador to the United Nations last week, the State
Department said Tuesday.
DeTrani, a former CIA official, "emphasized the importance of the
six-party framework and the centrality of the six-party framework" during
a brief introductory call on DPRK UN envoy Pak Gil Son in New York
Thursday, State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters.
However, the spokesman noted that the meeting between DeTrani and Pak
Gil Son did not suggest that the United States was ready to agree to
bilateral talks with the DPRK.
"The focus for dealing with the North Korean nuclear program remains
the six-party framework," Ereli said. "We are committed to the six-party
framework."
"There is no way, I think, anyone should take away from this the
impression that somehow it's a alternative to or diversion from the
multilateral handling of this problem," he said.
The talks, which involve China, the DPRK, the United States, South
Korea, Japan and Russia, were originally planned for December last year,
but were postponed because of differences between Pyongyang and
Washington.