US seeks dialogue with NKorea amid missile threat

[unhappycamper]

Asiana Airline employees work in front of a graphic screen indicating air routes Friday at the operations control center in Seoul. South Korea urged North Korea to retract its threat against South Korean passenger planes flying near its airspace, condemning it as unjustifiable and "inhumane."


US seeks dialogue with NKorea amid missile threat
By KWANG-TAE KIM
Associated Press Writer

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- A U.S. special envoy called Saturday for talks with North Korea and urged Pyongyang not to launch a missile and stop issuing threats to its southern neighbor.

North Korea escalated tensions Thursday by warning it could not guarantee the safety of South Korea's passenger jets flying near its airspace if annual joint U.S.-South Korean military maneuvers went ahead as planned Monday.

"We're reaching out now. We want dialogue," Stephen W. Bosworth told reporters upon arrival in South Korea, the last leg of a regional tour that took him to China and Japan.

The U.S. has not held official talks with North Korea since President Barack Obama took office earlier this year as his administration formulates its North Korea policy.

Some analysts say the communist country is trying to grab Obama's attention with the threat of a missile launch, speculation dismissed by North Korea.


Rest of article at: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_NKOREA_MISSILE?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-03-06-17-16-23