Diplomatic sources said that the United States and North Korea will hold semi-official contact in Singapore for two days starting next Monday.
  
The North’s chief delegate to the six-way nuclear talks, Ri Yong-ho, and deputy delegate, Choi Son-hee are likely to represent the North at the one-point-five track dialogue. The U.S., meanwhile, is most likely to be represented by Stephen Bosworth, the former special representative for North Korea policy.
 
Attention is being drawn to what message the North will unveil in the dialogue as it comes after the North offered to temporarily suspend nuclear tests if the U.S. calls off its annual joint military exercises with South Korea. The U.S. has officially refused such an offer.
 
According to one diplomatic source in Washington, although the upcoming contact is of an exploratory nature, it is unlikely the contact will to lead to government-level dialogue as Washington and Pyongyang remain at odds over issues concerning denuclearization.
 
The sources in Washington noted that the planned contact would be the first in eight months since a similar contact took place in Mongolia.