US hopes for nuclear talks on nuclear Korea soon

The US envoy for North Korea policy said on Tuesday he hoped serious negotiations over Pyongyang's nuclear programme could start soon, signalling a diplomatic push after a surge in tension.
The comments by Stephen Bosworth as he arrived in South Korea suggested a new impetus to negotiate an end to the North's atomic ambitions, but a breakthrough may be elusive as the parties seek proof the North is serious about disarming. Tension on the Korean peninsula reached some of its highest levels since the 1950-53 Korean War over the past year after the sinking of a South Korean ship killing 46 sailors, an exchange of artillery fire, nuclear revelations and threats of war.
"We believe that serious negotiations must be at the heart of any strategy for dealing with North Korea and we look forward to being able to launch those at a reasonably early time," Bosworth said. North Korea has tested nuclear devices twice in recent years and has threatened to use such weapons although it has not shown it has a deliverable atomic bomb.