After three days in Pyongyang, U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth says his high-level talks were positive, but yielded no new developments on the resumption of six-party nuclear negotiations.
Bosworth told reporters in Beijing Saturday his Pyongyang talks were "business like" and "forward looking."
"In Pyongyang I had very constructive meetings with the first vice foreign minister, Kang Sok Ju and also vice foreign minister, Kim Kye Gwan," he said. "We had an extensive review of the current situation and I think as I said that these were positive talks. Very business like, very candid and forward looking, not looking backward."
Bosworth says his talks did not resolve the issue of when and how to restart six-party negotiations on North Korean nuclear disarmament.
These are the first high-level talks between the Obama administration and North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il did not meet with the special envoy on this trip.
When asked to predict how negotiations might continue in the future, Bosworth advised the parties involved to exercise "strategic patience" for now.
"My ability to see into the future, even the short term future is extremely limited, and so we're going to digest the results of our talks in Pyongyang, and then we'll see what makes sense," he said.
North Korea's official news agency released a statement Friday saying the talks with Bosworth "deepened mutual understanding." Yet analysts say it is too early to consider Bosworth's trip a success.
Earlier this year, North Korea abandoned six-party nuclear negotiations and restarted its nuclear program, prompting tighter United Nations sanctions. North Korea responded by calling for bilateral talks with the United States.
Bosworth stopped in Beijing to brief Chinese officials before heading to Russia and Japan. Both countries are part of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program, along with China, the United States, and North and South Korea.
