U.S. Envoy Pushes for Improved Ties Between Koreas SEOUL, South Korea - A senior American diplomat said on Wednesday that Washington was "open to diplomacy" with the new leadership emerging in North Korea following the death of Kim Jong-il but wanted Pyongyang to improve ties with South Korea first. "We agreed that the path is open to North Korea toward the resumption of talks and improved relations with the United States" and South Korea, Assistant Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell told reporters after meeting senior South Korean officials. "We also underscored again very clearly that the road to these improved relations runs through Seoul for North Korea." With these comments, Mr. Campbell was sending a message to both Koreas. After weeks of uncertainty following Mr. Kim's death on Dec. 17, Washington appeared ready to resume talks with North Korea about the terms of restarting six-nation nuclear disarmament talks. At the same time, it was reassuring South Korea that it would not let North Korea drive a wedge between the two allies. The six-nation talks, which were aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program, have stalled since 2008. During the hiatus in the talks, North Korea has expanded its nuclear ambitions, conducting a second nuclear test in 2009 and unveiling an advanced uranium-enrichment plant in 2010. Relations between the two Koreas have also worsened, with Seoul curtailing aid shipments to the North and Pyongyang launching an artillery attack on a South Korean island. Washington and its allies rallied international sanctions against the North. In recent months, however, Washington has held bilateral talks with North Korea, probing ways of bringing Pyongyang back to the six-nation talks. Such a move created jitters in Seoul because North Korea, while sounding eager to return to the six-nation talks, vowed not to deal with President Lee Myung-bak's conservative government in Seoul. Pyongyang reconfirmed that stance as soon as Kim Jong-un, the third son of Mr. Kim, was elevated to the top leadership following his father's death. Mr. Campbell said the United States was waiting to see whether the new government in Pyongyang was prepared to take the steps necessary for the resumption of the talks. Those steps include suspending the North's uranium enrichment program, as well as improving ties with the South. In a speech in Seoul on Tuesday, Mr. Campbell said while he saw "hope in diplomacy," the United States maintained "a very strong deterrence and military commitment" to defend South Korea. His pointed remark, though a standard comment from American diplomats visiting Seoul, came amid concerns that the new leadership of North Korea might instigate a military provocation against the South to raise tensions to consolidate internal unity and extract concessions from its neighbors. Regional powers are keeping a wary eye on Kim Jong-un, who is believed to be in his late 20s and whose leadership remains untested. Japan's Tokyo Shimbun newspaper, citing unidentified sources, reported this week that China decided to provide 500,000 tons of food and 250,000 tons of oil to North Korea to help Mr. Kim settle into power. Beijing considers stability in Pyongyang a priority in its North Korea diplomacy. Asked about the report, Mr. Campbell said the United States believes Chinese officials have "taken steps to underscore their commitment to the transition in power in North Korea." "Those steps might include further provision of assistance, given the circumstances in North Korea," he said, without elaborating.