VOA常速英语:US Envoy to Meet North Koreans in New York

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A senior U.S. diplomat will meet a North Korean foreign ministry delegation Thursday in New York to discuss the next steps for the six-party accord, under which Pyongyang is to end its nuclear program in return for aid and diplomatic benefits. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department that China is expected to convene a six-party heads of delegation meeting soon.

State Department officials said U.S. special envoy for the six-party talks Sung Kim will meet a delegation headed by the North Korean foreign ministry's North American affairs director Ri Gun to discuss the way forward following last month's U.S.-North Korean agreement on verifying Pyongyang's nuclear program.

The disarmament process had been stalled for months over how to verify the nuclear-program declaration North Korea made in June.

Pyongyang, which had halted the process of disabling its nuclear reactor complex, agreed on a series of verification steps on October, 11. The Bush administration reciprocated by removing North Korea from the U.S. list of State sponsors of terrorism.

State Department Deputy Spokesman Robert Wood said the six parties still plan a heads of delegation meeting in China soon to collectively adopt the U.S.-North Korean understanding.

Wood told VOA the six-way meeting has been delayed by scheduling issues as opposed to any new substantive snag. He said when they convene, the delegation chiefs will look ahead to the next phase of implementation:

He added, "This process is based on an action-for-action program. The fact that we have worked out the verification protocol is a very good step . The next step, as I said, is the heads of delegation meeting to codify the arrangement. And then North Korea goes forward with its disablement process. And we will hopefully move into phase three, which will eventually lead to the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear infrastructure."

On another issue, a senior official here confirmed press accounts that last August India turned back - at the request of the United States - a North Korean plane that had sought to cross Indian airspace bound for Iran.

The official declined to give details of the incident. But The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal said U.S. officials suspected the plane carried advanced weapons hardware such as long-range missile components.

The aircraft, owned by the North Korean state airline, had stopped in Burma and had asked permission to over-fly India en route to Tehran.

The official said the U.S. assumption is that the plane returned to North Korea and did not reach Iran by some alternate route.

The Indian government, which is not an official party to the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative, has declined comment on the matter.

The United States has long accused North Korea of selling missile technology to countries like Iran, Syria, and Libya. Such activity is to be accounted for, and ended, under the six-party accord.