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Swedish Envoy: US, N. Korea Talks Went Longer Than Planned

William Gallo

   SEOUL - The recent nuclear negotiations between the United States and
   North Korea were substantive and lasted longer than anticipated,
   according to a Swedish diplomat who helped arrange the talks.

   The upbeat analysis by Swedish Special Envoy Kent Harstedt stands in
   contrast to that of North Korean diplomats, who blamed Washington for
   failing to bring new ideas to the early October talks in Sweden's
   capital.

   At an event Wednesday in Seoul, Harstedt said the U.S.-North Korea
   negotiations lasted "many hours" and were "not interrupted." He said he
   was "cautiously optimistic" the talks would continue, despite North
   Korea not accepting Sweden's invitation for follow-up talks within two
   weeks.

   "The DPRK hasn't closed the door for continuation at this point,"
   Harstedt said, using an abbreviation for North Korea's official name.
   "We don't comment exactly on our dialogue with DPRK. We can just say we
   have a very good working dialogue with them."

   "We also have to bear in mind that this is a very, very sensitive and
   complicated matter to discuss," the envoy added.

   Sweden has acted as an intermediary between the United States and North
   Korea, since the two countries do not have official diplomatic
   relations. Though Sweden helped set up the U.S.-North Korean talks,
   Harstedt said he was not involved in the negotiations.

   Immediately after the Stockholm talks, U.S. officials characterized the
   discussions as "good" and insisted that they want them to continue. But
   North Korea said it has no intention to engage in "sickening
   negotiations" until the United States takes unspecified steps to
   withdraw its "hostile policy."

   "I think it's good that both sides expressed themselves afterwards,"
   Harstedt said.

   Since the breakdown of the Stockholm talks, North Korea has hinted at a
   return to major provocations.

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