Negroponte plans to visit Asia but not North Korea
21 Feb 2007 15:40:33 GMT Source: Reuters
(Recasts with State Department spokesman's comment) WASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte plans to visit Japan, China and South Korea soon but will not go to North Korea, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. State Department spokesman Tom Casey denied a Financial Times report that quoted an unnamed official as saying Negroponte planned to add Pyongyang to his itinerary. "The deputy secretary is not going to North Korea," Casey told reporters. "He is, however, planning on traveling to Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul ... I believe the dates on that are March 1-6." Negroponte, who became deputy secretary of state last week, plans to focus on Asia and the upcoming trip will give him a chance to consult on issues including North Korea's nuclear programs, Casey said. At six-party talks in Beijing last week, North Korea agreed to seal its main nuclear reactor and the source of its weapons-grade plutonium in return for an initial 50,000 tonnes of fuel or economic aid. Those talks include the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.
