U.S.-DPRK bilateral talks likely to be held early December

The United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will likely hold bilateral talks in early December, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency on Monday quoted a senior government official as saying.

"The bilateral meeting appears most likely to be held after the Thanksgiving holiday, which falls on Nov. 25-29," the official said on condition of anonymity.

There were also some reports saying that the U.S. State Department is expected to either officially or unofficially reveal details of the bilateral talks such as the date, venue and concrete ways on late Monday or early Tuesday (local time) at the earliest.

The reports also said Washington had originally planned to hold talks with Pyongyang during the period of Nov. 20-24 soon after President Barack Obama's Asian trip and ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, but later rescheduled the meeting.

As Obama will hold a summit with his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak on Nov. 19 during his stop in Seoul, and discuss with Lee the DPRK issues, Washington has to review Pyongyang's reaction towards the message sent by the two leaders, another government official said.

A group of U.S. experts from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) are also scheduled to visit Pyongyang during Nov. 21-24, the reports added.

Source: Xinhua