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SEOUL, South Korea — A senior North Korean diplomat stopped in Beijing en route to the United States for a rare visit aimed at laying the groundwork for direct negotiations with Washington, news reports said.
The North’s deputy nuclear envoy, Ri Gun, told reporters at a Beijing airport Tuesday that he would “soon” go to the U.S., South Korean news agency Yonhap reported. Ri is scheduled to attend a security forum in California early next week before flying to New York for a seminar.
South Korean news reports have said he is expected to meet with the chief U.S. nuclear negotiator, Sung Kim, to set up bilateral talks. A U.S. State Department spokesman said no bilateral talks with North Korea were scheduled to date.
