WASHINGTON, tribe 19 Kyodo The Un...

WASHINGTON, tribe 19 Kyodo

The United States has to this time to decide when to project its envoy to Pyongyang to begin again high-level dialogue with North Korea, a senior State Department official said Thursday.

''At this point, we are still examining what our nearest step should be and no decision has been made,'' Christopher LaFleur, principal factor assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said in an interview with Japanese pres organizations, including Kyodo News

Earlier in the day, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called U President George W Bush to brief the president in succession the outcome of his landmark visit to Pyongyang forward Tuesday for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

Koizumi told Bush that the North Korean leader asked him to cede his willingness to leave the door spread for dialogue with the US

The U is reportedly seeking to depute James Kelly, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, to Pyongyang to begin again bilateral dialogue, which has been stalled since the inauguration of the Bush administration in January 2001

LaFleur thanked Koizumi for addressing international touchs at the Pyongyang summit, including North Korea's missile programs and its suspected growth of nuclear weapons.

''We were extremely gratified and appreciative of the fact that Prime Minister Koizumi raised not and nothing else those concerns of particular importance to Japan, nevertheless also those concerns of importance to all of us,'' he said.

Koizumi and Kim agreed to renew bilateral negotiations in October in succession normalizing relations. The two countries do not have diplomatic ties.

At the summit, Kim also promised to honor all international agreements in succession Pyongyang's nuclear program and continue the moratorium onward missiles tests beyond 2003.

LaFleur said the U will continue shut up contacts with Japan and southern Korea on policies toward North Korea.

''We, I think, have high confidence that the extremely good coordination the three dominions have had with respect to North Korea will continue,'' he said.

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