U.S., North Korean Officials Hold First High-Level Talks

WASHINGTON — In a small but symbolic step, the United States and North Korea on Wednesday held high-level discussions at the State Department for the first time, including talk of a possible exchange of diplomats.

The meeting appeared to have been facilitated by North Korea’s agreement Friday to open negotiations on a peace treaty for the Korean peninsula. The United States and South Korea set forth the proposal in April 1996.

The State Department called the talks “businesslike” but indicated that there were no breakthroughs.

Leading the respective delegations were U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Charles Kartman and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye Gwan.

A State Department summation of Wednesday’s meeting said they discussed cooperation on the return of the remains of American service personnel killed in Korea, the establishment of liaison offices in the two capitals, missile proliferation and terrorism.

Pentagon officials are seeking an accounting of the more than 8,000 U.S. service personnel still missing from the Korean War, which officially ended in 1953 with an armistice between the North and South.

Larry Greer, a Pentagon spokesman, said U.S. officials intended to press North Korea for permission to interview four American soldiers who deserted their units in the 1960s and are believed to be living in North Korea.

The negotiations for a permanent peace on the peninsula are scheduled to begin Dec. 9 in Geneva. They will involve the two Koreas, the U.S. and China.