The Clinton administration on Monday dispatched Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Hubbard to North Korea, hoping to negotiate the release of a captive U.S. Army helicopter pilot.
Meanwhile, Pyongyang's stance on releasing Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Hall appears to be hardening.
North Korea's government news agency said Monday that the United States first must admit that Hall's helicopter was on a spying mission when it went down three miles north of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.
U.S. officials have previously acknowledged navigational errors caused the helicopter to stray into North Korean airspace, where it either crashed or was shot down. Pyongyang says its gunfire brought down the craft.
Hall, of Brooksville, Fla., has been held since since Dec. 17. Co-pilot Chief Warrant Officer David Hilemon was killed.
North Korean officials say Hall is in good physical condition. They have not allowed outsiders to see him.
Hall's wife, Donna, and sons Byron, 9, and Brandon, 6, are anxiously waiting at their home, 50 miles north of Tampa. Yellow ribbons are seen throughout Brooksville.
North Korean diplomats say Hall is likely to be released following Hubbard's visit.
North Korea's U.N. mission asked the State Department to send an envoy "to facilitate the prompt repatriation" of Hall, says State Department spokesman Mike McCurry.
Hubbard arrives in Pyongyang tonight or Wednesday.
U.S. officials are cautious over the North Korean request for talks. "We hope that's a good a sign," McCurry says.
Rep. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., who last week brokered the return of the co-pilot's remains, still predicts Hall will be freed "very soon," following a North Korean promise to him.
But Richardson warns a "power struggle going on between the civilian and military side" in North Korea, that dashed hopes Hall would be home by Christmas, could prolong his captivity.
Hubbard'a visit "is a plea to enhance the leverage of the (North Korean) foreign ministry types who want to resolve this issue," says Richardson.
The Hubbard mission "is either a face-saver for the North Koreans or it could be that my original agreement (to free Hall soon) is in trouble," Richardson says. It's possible that "North Korea has other issues to discuss in mind."
An apparent vacuum has emerged in North Korea after the July death of leader Kim Il Sung. Richardson says, "The military side is totally in control on this issue," which North Korean officials confirm.
But they say Kim's son, Kim Jong Il, is firmly in power, which some observers doubt.
Richardson says Pyongyang still is "in the Cold War mentality of the '50s."
North Korean officials are pleased with the choice of Hubbard, who helped negotiate an October nuclear accord with Korea and maintains contact with North Korea's mission to the United Nations.
The Clinton administration did not want to send chief Korea negotiator Robert Gallucci, avoiding a link to the recent, controversial multibillion-dollar deal to stem North Korea's nuclear weapons development.
