U.S. says N. Korea talks 'positive'

U.S. negotiator Stephen Bosworth delivers a statement outside of the U.S. embassy on Tuesday in Geneva.U.S. ambassador: "We are moving in a positive direction"State Department spokeswoman: "Important issues do remain""We have agreed that we will be in touch at an appropriate moment"
(CNN) -- A senior State Department official is tempering expectations on how quickly North Korea could respond to just-concluded discussions with the United States in Geneva, Switzerland.
"North Korea's team obviously has to go home now and has to consult with their leadership," the official said Tuesday.
"We all know how the North Korean system works. We do think it's going to be not a matter of days or weeks but probably a matter of weeks and months before we're going to be able to really know where we're going next on this. We expect it will take some time for the North Koreans to digest what we talked about in Geneva."
U.S. officials described as "positive" Monday's meeting with a North Korean delegation in an effort to restart talks with the reclusive nation over ending Pyongyang's nuclear program.
"We are moving in a positive direction," U.S. Ambassador Stephen Bosworth said in Geneva after the meeting. "We have narrowed some differences, but we still have differences that we have to resolve."
"As you know, our goal is to find a solid foundation on which to launch a resumption of discussions both bilateral and multilateral and we will continue to work hard to bring that about," Bosworth said.
At a meeting between the two countries in July, Washington laid out a list of things it was looking for from Pyongyang to demonstrate its seriousness about abandoning its nuclear ambitions, a State Department official told reporters last week.
One of the things the United States was seeking is North Korean engagement with South Korea, the official said, adding that a recent "constructive meeting" between the two countries helped get the parties to this point.
There is concern that if the United States or South Korea do not engage with North Korea, it could lead to miscalculation or provocations on the part of North Korea, the official said.
The meeting in Geneva gave the United States an opportunity to see how the North Koreans absorbed what the Americans laid out in July, and what North Korea's intentions are, the official said.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called the Geneva meeting "constructive."
"There was some narrowing of differences, but important issues do remain," she said during a briefing at the State Department.
"We now think that we've both got to go back to our capitals; we've got to evaluate what we've heard. And we have agreed that we will be in touch at an appropriate moment," Nuland said.
View the original article here

Obama talks politics, Libya with Leno

President Barack Obama appears on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Tuesday night.Obama appears on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" Tuesday eveningObama says he won't pay attention to the GOP primary until it's down to 1 or 2 candidatesObama tells Leno that Gadhafi's death sends "a strong message" to other dictators
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- President Barack Obama chats about politics and foreign policy during a taped appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" Tuesday, telling the late-night talk show host he's not spending too much time yet focusing on next year's potential GOP rivals.
Asked by Leno if he's been watching the recent spate of Republican presidential debates, Obama says that he's "going to wait until everybody's voted off the island."
"Once they narrow it down to one or two (candidates), I'll start paying attention," the president jokes.
Obama criticizes Washington's harsh political climate, telling Leno that "the things that folks across the country are most fed up with, whether you are a Democrat, Republican, independent, is putting party ahead of country or putting the next election ahead of the next generation."
Leno also brings up the situation in Libya, asking the president for his reaction to the death of longtime strongman Moammar Gadhafi.
"This is somebody who for 40 years has terrorized his country and supported terrorism," Obama says. Gadhafi "had an opportunity during the Arab Spring to finally let loose of his grip on power and to peacefully transition into democracy. We gave him ample opportunity, and he wouldn't do it."
Obama stresses that he didn't enjoy seeing Gadhafi's violent death, but notes that it sends "a strong message around the word to dictators" that "people long to be free," and that "universal rights" and aspirations should be respected.
Obama's full interview with Leno is scheduled to air on NBC Tuesday night.
The president is on a three-day trip to Nevada, California and Colorado.
View the original article here

N. Korea, U.S. to meet to restart talks

U.S. top negotiator on North Korean affairs Glyn Davies is pictured Sunday in Geneva on the eve of a second round of rare direct talks.The decision to have talks stems in part from North-South meetingsThe last full round of six-party talks were in 2008Glyn Davies will replace Stephen Bosworth as special envoy
Washington (CNN) -- An interagency team of U.S. officials will meet with a North Korean delegation Monday in Geneva, Switzerland, aimed at restarting talks with the reclusive nation.
The decision by the United States to launch the two days of talks with North Korea stems in part from recent meetings between North Korea and South Korea, a senior State Department official told reporters traveling with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Afghanistan on Wednesday.
At a meeting between the United States and North Korea in July, the official said, Washington laid out a list of things it was looking for from Pyongyang to demonstrate its seriousness about abandoning its nuclear ambitions.
The official said one of the things the United States had been seeking was North Korean engagement with South Korea. A recent "constructive meeting" between the two countries helped get the parties to this point.
The meeting in Geneva will give the United States an opportunity to see how the North Koreans absorbed what the Americans laid out to them in July and see what their intentions are. The official said there is a concern that if the United States or South Korea do not engage with North Korea, it could lead to miscalculation or provocations on the part of North Korea.
Deputy State Department spokesman Mark Toner called the meetings "exploratory" in nature.
"We are not seeking to have talks for talks' sake," Toner said. It's "safe to say we are looking for concrete actions" by North Korea before resuming the six-party talks, which have been dormant since 2008, Toner said.
The six-party talks are a vehicle launched under former President George W. Bush to negotiate an end to Pyongyang's nuclear program. They involve both Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia. At various points, progress seemed to be made, only to have North Korea either pull out over disagreements on verifiable declarations of their nuclear program, or to engage in belligerent behavior that scuttled the talks.
We are not seeking to have talks for talks' sake
Mark Toner, deputy U.S. State Department spokesman
The United States has been in contact on a regular basis with all sides involved in the six-party talks, Toner said.
Washington has called repeatedly for Pyongyang to undertake a series of prerequisite steps, such as halting missile and nuclear tests, and further development of nuclear weapons, to show it is interested in coming back to talks.
At a news conference this month with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, U.S. President Barack Obama said, "If Pyongyang continues to ignore its international obligations, it will invite even more pressure and isolation. If the North abandons its quest for nuclear weapons and moves towards denuclearization, it will enjoy greater security and opportunity for its people."
After taking office in 2009, Obama was met with a set of provocations. North Korea test-fired missiles and conducted a new round of nuclear tests. A small opening toward the resumption of talks was reversed after North Korea was accused of sinking a South Korean naval vessel in the Yellow Sea, followed by their artillery shelling of a South Korean island in November 2010 in which two civilians were killed.
Ambassador Stephen Bosworth, who will lead the U.S. delegation, will step down from his position following the meetings and will be succeeded by Glyn Davies, the U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.
Davies will also be at the talks in Geneva.
The State Department did not give a specific reason for Bosworth's decision to step down, but Toner said he believed it was a "personal" decision. In addition to his role at the State Department, Bosworth has also maintained his position on the faculty at the Fletcher School of Diplomacy at Tufts University outside Boston.
Clifford Hart, a foreign policy adviser to the U.S. Navy and an expert on China and Taiwan, will become the new chief U.S. negotiator to the six-party talks and will report to Davies in his new role.
CNN Senior State Department Producer Elise Labott contributed to this report.
View the original article here

Clinton in frank talks in Pakistan

U.S. presses Pakistan on terror fightClinton pushed Pakistanis for more action against Haqqani networkShe admitted the U.S. had met with the Haqqani network onceClinton also met with Pakistan's president
Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the case to both Pakistani officials and public Friday for stronger action to deny safe havens to terrorists -- even as she explained why the United States tried to talk to one insurgent group.
In a news conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Clinton said they spoke about the Haqqani network, a Pakistan-based group believed to be responsible for attacks against U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The United States has accused Pakistan's top spy agency of aiding the network
"Nobody that launches attacks should be tolerated with safe haven in a country," Clinton said.
Khar said that safe havens on both sides of the border are an issue, and that Pakistan is working to establish "concrete steps" to "squeeze" the Haqqani network.
But at a roundtable with journalists, Clinton admitted that the United States itself had reached out to the Haqqanis, though, according to a senior State Department official, the meeting happened before the recent attacks.
Clinton was asked if the United States was being contradictory by calling for Pakistan to squeeze them out while the American reached out to them.
"We do not see any contradiction," Clinton said. "In fact, the Pakistani government officials helped to facilitate such a meeting."
The senior State Department official said that the United States met with the Haqqani network at the urging of Pakistani intelligence, and reiterated that America was willing to negotiate with anyone who meets certain guidelines, like not attacking U.S. or Afghan troops. In the case of the Haqqanis, the United States is prepared to fight, the official said.
Khar said that from the Pakistani point of view, they want to get the Haqqani network into the peace process. If the network does not participate in peace talks, he said, the Pakistani government is willing to do what it takes to get them to stop launching attacks.
In a private meeting, Clinton spoke with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.
Clinton also held a town hall meeting with members of the Pakistani public. She told the crowd that the question is not whether the United States and Pakistan should work together, but how. Common interests have given way to mutual distrust, she said.
Before going to Pakistan, Clinton stopped in Afghanistan to meet with President Hamid Karzai. Her visit to Afghanistan followed a stop in Libya.
Clinton left Pakistan and flew to Tajikistan on Friday.
View the original article here