Talks Urged Prior to Visit Planned for Hwang to U.S.

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Talks Urged Prior to Visit Planned for Hwang to U.S.

WASHINGTON - Senator Christopher Cox, R-California, conceded that the issue of North Korean defector Hwang Jang-yop's visit to Washington i\must be tackled by the governments of the two countries, an official at the South Korean Embassy in Washington said.

Yang Sung-chul, South Korean Ambassador to the United States, met with Mr. Cox on Monday to emphasize that consultation between the two governments must precede the visit, which he said is not an issue simply between the U.S. Congress and Mr. Hwang.

Mr. Cox, along with Senator Jesse Helms, R-North Carolina, and Representative Henry Hyde, R-Illinois, invited Mr. Hwang, the highest ranking North Korean to have defected to the South, to testify on North Korea's situation before Congress in July.

The three lawmakers had previously insisted that the South Korean government sanction the visit.

"It has only been agreed that consultation between the two countries is necessary," the official said. "It is still unknown whether Mr. Hwang will visit the United States or not."



by Kim Jin

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