The United States is considering setting up a representative office in Pyongyang as a diplomatic mission, according to a report Wednesday.
Radio Free Asia said the United States will set up a diplomatic mission in Pyongyang, and its form would most likely be a representative office, not a liaison office or an embassy.
The US radio station quoted a source as saying that the US government and Congress are discussing the level of a diplomatic mission in Pyongyang, which will depend on progress in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) dismantlement of its nuclear weapons program.
A US official who worked on the creation of a diplomatic mission in Pyongyang in 1994 told the radio station that it would be good for Washington to have representation in Pyongyang in order to understand it.
The official stressed that the absence of a mission may lead the United States to make policy based on wrong information.
However, the experts agreed that the prerequisite for the diplomatic mission was the denuclearization of the DPRK.
"It is not so meaningful a debate to discuss whether to set up a representative- or embassy-level mission in Pyongyang because there will be a US Embassy in the end," a senior government official from the Republic of Korea said. "But the more important thing is that North Korea (DPRK) moves toward denuclearization for this to be realized."
The US promised to establish full diplomatic relations with the DPRK, depending on its actions toward denuclearization on the October 3 agreement reached at Six-Party Talks involving the two Koreas, the US, China, Russia and Japan.
US delegation in DPRK
US nuclear experts left Beijing yesterday for DPRK talks on disabling its main nuclear reactor, the next step in a plan to strip the country of its nuclear capability.
The visit follows a meeting between DPRK and Republic of Korea, the US, China, Russia and Japan in late September in Beijing at which North Korea agreed to disable its Yongbyon complex and declare all its nuclear programs by the end of this year.
"We're looking forward to a very productive visit," said Sung Kim, the US State Department's top Korea expert who is leading the group.
"We expect to be there for a week or so to finalize discussions on disablement, the scope of disablement and also to discuss a wide range of administrative issues related to disablement," Kim told reporters at the Beijing airport.
"The first stage of disablement is the three main facilities in Yongbyon. The deadline is December 31, 2007," Kim said.
Source: China Daily/agencies
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