Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Dean Stephen Bosworth is set be named as the U.S. envoy to six-party talks on North Korean denuclearization, according to reports citing unnamed sources.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may designate Bosworth as her department's special representative for North Korea as early as tomorrow, before she leaves on Sunday for a trip to Japan, South Korea, China and Indonesia, according to an Associated Press report yesterday. The AP said that Bosworth had already been offered the position.
Bosworth, who served as U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 1997 to 2001, traveled to Pyongyang on a private visit last week and told reporters in Beijing afterward that North Korean officials conveyed a readiness to move forward with talks on denuclearization. He did not represent the U.S. government during his trip.
Bosworth's office and Fletcher School spokespersons did not respond to requests for comment last night. Reuters reported that Bosworth declined to comment on whether he would be tapped for the position.
State Department spokesperson Laura Tischler told the Daily last night that she could neither confirm nor deny whether Bosworth has been offered the job. She also would not confirm whether Clinton wanted to name an envoy ahead of her trip to Asia.
Bosworth's visit to North Korea last week followed an increase in bellicose rhetoric from North Korean officials, who recently announced a termination of their country's diplomatic agreements with South Korea. The North is also reportedly preparing to test a long-range ballistic missile.
In comments to reporters last Friday, though, Bosworth underscored North Korea's openness to speaking with U.S. officials about resuming the six-party talks.
"We can continue to work towards eventual denuclearization of Korean peninsula," Bosworth told reporters in Beijing, according to the Associated Press. "They understand the Obama administration will need some time to sort itself through the policy review, and they expressed patience, there is no sense of alarm or urgency."
Bosworth traveled to North Korea for five days along as part of a seven-person delegation composed of academics, including Jonathan Pollack, an East Asia security expert at the U.S. Naval War College in Rhode Island.
Bosworth did not provide the names of any North Korean officials he met while he was in North Korea and only said that they were involved with foreign affairs, defense and the economy, according to the AP.
The Fletcher School never officially announced the trip to the media, according to spokesperson Ian Davis; rather, reporters caught up with Bosworth upon his arrival at Beijing's international airport.
The six-party talks, which include North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, collapsed in December after the North failed to agree to a verification process for the dismantlement of its nuclear program.
A 2007 deal promised North Korea the equivalent of 1 million tons of fuel oil if it agreed to close its Yongbyon nuclear facility, in addition to other nuclear weapons-related concessions.
The visiting officials also explained that they raised concerns about North Korean preparations for a possible test launch of the long-range Taepodong-2 missile, Bosworth told reporters. The North first tested the missile in 2006, but it failed to stay airborne for more than a few seconds before self-destructing.
"There was no threat, no indication that they were concerned. They treated the missile issue as just another run-of-the-mill issue," Bosworth said, according to Reuters.
The North has hinted that it is not preparing to launch a missile, but rather a satellite into orbit. According the Associated Press, North Korea's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the country's scientists and engineers are "actively pushing for a project to make a peaceful use of space."
These words have aroused suspicion, as the North gave a similar reason for the 1998 test-firing a Taepodong-1 ballistic missile that flew over Japan before landing in the Pacific Ocean.
Ahead of her trip to Asia, Clinton is scheduled to give a speech that may outline the Obama administration's Asia policy, according to the AP. She may announce her selection for the U.S. envoy position to the six-party talks, for which she has expressed support, during that speech, the AP reported, citing three unnamed U.S. officials.
Tischler, the State Department spokesperson, would not comment on the speech mentioned in the report.
In addition to serving as U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Bosworth also served as ambassador to the Philippines from 1984 to 1987, and to Tunisia from 1979 to 1981.
