United States President Barack Obama’s special representative for talks in Seoul, Korea, Ambassador Stephen Bosworth, arrived in the South Korean capital ahead of the talks in Pyongyang. Bosworth’s main mission was to attempt to bring the Kim Jong II administration back to six-nation talks, focusing on giving up nuclear weapons that North Korea discarded.

The envoy met with Wi Sung-lac, the South Korean six-party talks mediator, ahead of his advance trip to North Korea.

In Pyongyang, Bosworth tried to convince North Korea to go back to nuclear disarmament discussions with Japan, the United States, South Korea and Russia.

In 2009, however, North Korea strongly stated that it would not be returning to such discussions and compromises. On the other hand, the nation’s leader, Kim Jong II, was said to have told China’s head of state last October that he might reconsider it, depending on how the talks with Bosworth would work out.

Pyongyang plays a significant role as it was given sanctions by the United Nations Security Council and this stopped Pyongyang from selling conventional weapons to foreign buyers – something that helps the nation cope with its financial woes.

Reports said that there is concern in Seoul that the insistence of Pyongyang in having such talks with the US representative could cause one party to oppose with the other. However, there are foreign policy analysts who said that this issue should not even be a problem.

North Korea has stressed that it will only join the six-party talks if the US government will sign a peace agreement that will result to the resolution or end of the Korean war.

Sources from Washington insisted that Ambassador Stephen Bosworth’s itinerary and list of activities did not include peace talks of any sort.