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4TH LD: N. Korea's chief 6-way negotiator likely to visit Tokyo+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)BEIJING, April 5_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING S. KOREA FOREIGN MINISTER'S PRESS BRIEFING IN 7TH-8TH GRAFS) North Korea's head delegate to the six-party nuclear talks and the North's deputy ambassador to the United Nations are preparing to visit Tokyo next week for a conference to be attended by officials of the six-way negotiations, Japanese government officials said Wednesday. Kim Kye Gwan, also vice foreign minister, Han Song Ryol, North Korea's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, and three others have submitted requests to visit Japan that are expected to be approved soon, the officials said. The meeting in Tokyo will be the first gathering of the delegates from the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia since the multilateral nuclear negotiations stalled after being held in Beijing in November. The talks have been deadlocked since North Korea refused to return to the negotiating table unless the United States lifts financial sanctions it imposed on entities suspected of moneylaundering and counterfeiting for North Korea. Representing the United States at the Tokyo conference will be Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill, the U.S. chief negotiator for the six-party talks. While a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo has said there were no immediate plans for Hill to meet with the North Koreans bilaterally, a Japanese government source said that Kenichiro Sasae, Japan's chief negotiator, is considering acting as a mediator of talks between the two sides. South Korea will also send its head delegate to the six-way talks, Deputy Foreign Minister Chun Young Woo, to the Tokyo conference, South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki Moon said Wednesday. "Talks are under way as to holding consultations with countries involved in the six-party talks (on the occasion of Chun's participation in the conference)," Ban said at a press briefing. North Korea's Han was a member of the country's delegation that met bilaterally with the United States in New York in March to discuss the U.S. financial sanctions. Japan has already issued an entry permit for Jong Thae Yang, Pyongyang's deputy representative to the six-party talks, and three others for the conference. Japan and North Korea have no diplomatic ties, and Tokyo rarely grants North Korean officials entry to the country. The academic meeting will be held from Sunday to Tuesday, taking up security issues in the Northeast Asian region. Some sessions involving a portion of the participants are scheduled for next Wednesday and the following day. |