美 비건 부장관 한국 도착…한미 현안•한반도 정세 논의<br /><br />U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Stephen Biegun, arrived in South Korea just a few hours ago,... for talks with top officials here on topics including North Korea.<br />What draws attention is whether he has brought any message to send to the North, despite Pyeongyang's firm stance that it won't be talking with Washington.<br />Hong Yoo files us this report from Seoul's foreign ministry.<br />U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun arrived at Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi-do province on Tuesday afternoon.<br />He will be staying in Seoul for three days and is expected to discuss issues related to the Korean peninsula and the possibility of resuming talks with Pyeongyang.<br />On the second day of his visit, Biegun will sit down for talks with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and later with the first vice foreign minister Cho Sei-young to discuss key bilateral, regional and global issues.<br />Biegun will also meet the special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs Lee Do-hoon to discuss denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.<br />On the last day, he is expected to visit the Blue House to meet top officials that have recently been appointed to diplomacy and security positions.<br />The U.S. State Department said Monday that through this visit, Biegun will strengthen the mediation process for a final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea.<br />But all eyes are on whether Biegun has brought a message for the North.<br />Last time he was here, he had offered a summit between North Korea and the U.S., an offer that was not answered by the regime.<br />Just hours before he arrived this time, North Korea rejected the possibility of talks with the U.S.<br />North Korea's foreign ministry director-general Kwon Jong-gun said in a statement that the regime is not willing to sit across from Americans... and that the North's First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui had made their stance clear last Saturday.<br />Hong Yoo, Arirang News.<br />
