US special envoy for NKorea meets Japanese counterpart

(11 May 2009) 1. US Special Envoy for North Korea Stephen Bosworth (second left) and Japanese nuclear envoy Akitaka Saiki (third left) walking in corridor, later shaking hands 2. Close of sign, reading: (English/Japanese) "Director-General Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau" 3. Various of Japanese Foreign Ministry building STORYLINE: US Special Envoy for North Korea Stephen Bosworth arrived in Tokyo on Monday on the third stop of his Asian tour aimed at bringing North Korea back to denuclearisation talks. Bosworth met with Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka prior to a meeting with Japanese nuclear envoy Akitaka Saiki. Bosworth's trip to the region came as North Korea continued to ratchet up nuclear tensions following its controversial April 5 rocket launch. Pyongyang characterised the launch as a successful bid to send a satellite into space. The US and others saw it as a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions barring the North from ballistic missile-related activity since the same technology can be used to fire an intercontinental missile mounted with nuclear arms. The UN Security Council condemned the launch and punished the regime by slapping sanctions on three North Korean firms. North Korea retaliated by quitting the nuclear negotiations, kicking out US and UN inspectors and warning it may conduct nuclear or long-range missile tests if the UN and Washington refuse to apologise for the censure. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...