Obama Urges Direct US Talks With North Korea on Campaign Trail

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama used the opening day of his 2008 campaign to call for direct US engagement with North Korea, arguing that refusing to talk to a country punishes no one.

Speaking at a town hall event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, his first stop after formally announcing his candidacy in Springfield, Illinois, Obama acknowledged North Korea's rogue status but insisted tough diplomacy required direct dialogue.

He recounted a conversation with newly appointed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who reportedly said US recognition of North Korea could shift the relationship significantly.

Meanwhile, six-nation negotiations in Beijing aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program ended that same Saturday without an agreement.

President George W. Bush had labeled North Korea part of an "axis of evil" and consistently refused bilateral talks with Pyongyang, backing instead the multilateral six-party framework.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in February 2007, in its own words.