SEOUL, June 21 (UPI) -- Hopes are running high in South Korea for substantial progress in North Korea's nuclear disarmament process as the chief U.S. nuclear envoy is making a rare, surprise visit to the communist country at its invitation.
The visit, which comes ahead of a planned trip next week by U.N. nuclear inspectors to discuss the shutdown of the North's main nuclear reactor, may be pivotal in ending the years-long nuclear standoff and promoting peace on the Korean peninsula.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill flew to Pyongyang Thursday for a two-day trip focused on denuclearization and diplomatic ties as called for in a recent deal, South Korean officials said.
At the Pyongyang airport, Hill was greeted by Ri Kun, a director in charge of U.S. affairs at the North's Foreign Ministry, television footage showed. During the visit, Hill was set to meet his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye Gwan, and other officials to discuss ways to kick-start the stalled process to disarm North Korea.
Hill is the highest U.S. official to visit North Korea since a trip by chief negotiator James Kelly in October 2002, during which North Korea was alleged to have admitted enriching uranium, sparking the current nuclear crisis.
Upon arriving in Pyongyang, the U.S. envoy said he would use the trip to make up for lost time in the North's disarmament process, referring to the long-delayed implementation of the Feb. 13 accord on ending the nuclear standoff.
Under the deal, North Korea was to shut down its plutonium-producing reactor at Yongbyon by April 14 in return for energy aid. But Pyongyang has refused to carry through with its nuclear obligations, calling for the release of its funds frozen in a Macao-based bank. The funds of $25 million returned to a North Korean account in a Russian bank last week, effectively ending the months-long banking dispute.
Now that the banking issue has been resolved, Hill is pressing the North to begin implementing its side of the deal immediately.
Seoul officials said Hill was expected to deliver a message from U.S. President George W. Bush. It is unclear that he could meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. The U.S. envoy will return to Seoul on Friday to brief officials on the outcome of his trip.
The South Korean government welcomed the U.S. envoy's trip, saying it expects the visit to accelerate the process to disarm North Korea and establish a lasting peace on the peninsula, which remains technically in a state of war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended without a peace treaty.
"The government also hopes Assistant Secretary of State Hill's visit to North Korea will help move forward the process of normalizing U.S.-North Korea relations," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Officials and analysts said Hill's trip symbolizes the softening U.S. stance toward North Korea, once labeled as part of an "axis of evil" by President Bush.
A year ago, the North, through a Foreign Ministry statement, invited Hill to visit Pyongyang for direct talks to break the nuclear standoff. North Korea has insisted a resolution to the nuclear crisis would come only through direct talks between Pyongyang and Washington. But Washington rebuffed the proposal and shunned a bilateral meeting with the North, seeking a resolution in a multilateral manner.
In an apparent response to the U.S. refusal, the North test-launched a volley of missiles in July, which was followed by a bombshell underground nuclear test three months later, putting the Asian-Pacific region on alert.
"Mr. Hill's visit to North Korea indicates that the United States has recognized North Korea as a serious dialogue partner," said Kim Kun-shik, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University in Seoul. "The trip also reflects U.S. willingness to resolve the nuclear problem through dialogue."
On the back of Hill's North Korea trip, South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Chun Yung-woo, said he expected informal discussions to start early next month to prepare for a new round of the six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear arms program.
In another positive sign, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi is scheduled to visit North Korea on July 2-4 for talks on the nuclear disarmament process. Yang's trip would be his first to North Korea since becoming foreign minister in late April.
Seoul is poised to deliver 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil to North Korea as part of the nuclear deal. The government is in talks with domestic oil refiners to buy the oil. The government has also decided to resume 400,000 tons of rice shipments to the North, reversing its policy to suspend supplies until it starts shutting down its nuclear reactor, in hope that the aid would help accelerate the disarmament process.
