By Son Key-young
Korea Times Correspondent

WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is poised to hold a meeting with his North Korean counterpart Paek Nam-sun in Vietnam next month, if working-level talks between the two sides proceed in a desirable direction, South Korean officials said.

"As Secretary Powell and Minister Paek are set to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Hanoi, the U.S. side believes that a meeting between them is a due course of action regardless of whether it might be a serious one or not," said an official accompanying Foreign Affairs-Trade Minister Han Seung-soo on his eight-day visit to the United States.

So far, the South Korean government has called for high-level meetings between Washington and Pyongyang, because Seoul believes it is hard for working-level officials to make things move forward in view of North Korea’s policy-making process.

In the same ARF meeting held last year, then-secretary of state Madeleine Albright met Minister Paek to discuss the improvement of bilateral ties.

As the Bush administration has completed its four-month-long review on North Korea policies, South Korean officials believe that it is time for Washington and Pyongyang to kick off high-level talks.

Asked whether he would meet the North Korean minister, Secretary Powell reacted cautiously in a press conference June 7, saying, "It is premature to speculate on that. It is a possibility, but I don’t know yet."