Politics

North Korean envoy arrives for talks in U.S.

Ri Yong-ho, center, envoy for North Korea’s six-party talks, arrived Tuesday at JFK International Airport in New York. Ri was invited to a three-day forum on Korean Peninsula security organized by the Maxwell School at Syracuse University in New York State, whose dean is the former deputy secretary of state Jim Steinberg. At the airport, Ri told South Korean reporters, “The six-party talks will fare well.”

South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy Lim Sung-nam also left for New York yesterday to attend the same security forum, spurring speculation that Lim may meet with his North Korean counterpart who is also scheduled to join the forum. South Korean officials said no meeting between Lim and Ri has been arranged during the forum, but did not rule out the possibility of an encounter.[YONHAP]