US Congress delegation arrives in Pyongyang to break deadlock over nuclear issue

A delegation of the United States Congress Tuesday arrived in Pyongyang in a presumed bid to break the current deadlock between the US and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over the DPRK's nuclear issue and to further understand the DPRK's standpoint on the issue.

The delegation is headed by James Leach, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asian and the Pacific Affairs of the International Relations Committee of the House of Representatives.

The DPRK announced on Monday that it would postpone its participation in the second phase of the fourth round six-party talks to mid-September because the US recently started large-scale military exercises dubbed "Ulji Focus Lens-05" with South Korea and appointed a presidential envoy to oversee the DPRK's human rights issues.

Leach, a senior Republican, was recently quoted by US reports as saying that "nothing is more stupid than attacking the DPRK". He also urged the Bush administration to widen contact channels with the DPRK, not just limit itself to the six-party talks.

Source: Xinhua