DPRK cancels meeting with US envoy

SEOUL - Democratic People's Republic of Korea has cancelled for a second time its invitation for a senior US envoy to visit the country to discuss a long-detained American's possible release, the State Department said Monday.

The cancellation, which comes only days after detained American missionary Kenneth Bae reportedly told a pro-Pyongyang newspaper that he expected to meet this week with the envoy, is an apparent protest of upcoming annual military drills between Washington and Seoul. Pyongyang also claims that US nuclear-capable B-52 bombers staged drills near the Korean Peninsula. DPRKcalls the drills a rehearsal for invasion, a claim the allies deny.

The State Department also said in a statement that civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson had offered to travel to Pyongyang at the request of Bae's family. The State Department did not elaborate and referred questions to Jackson, whose spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Analysts say DPRK has previously used detained Americans as leverage in its standoff with the US over its nuclear and missile programs; Pyongyang denies this.

Bae has been held in DPRK for 15 months. Pyongyang accused him of smuggling in inflammatory literature and trying to establish a base for anti-Pyongyang activities at a border city hotel.

Bae was quoted last week in a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan as saying he had been notified that the US envoy on  DPRK's human rights issues, Bob King, would visit him as early as Monday and no later than the end of the month.

"We are deeply disappointed by the DPRK decision  for a second time  to rescind its invitation for Ambassador King to travel to Pyongyang to discuss Kenneth Bae's release," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.

In August, DPRK also rescinded an invitation for King to visit, saying Washington perpetrated a grave provocation by allegedly mobilizing B-52 bombers during military drills. Last week, DPRK threatened to scrap reunions of war-divided families in both Koreas later this month because of the upcoming drills and the alleged B-52 flights.

The US Pacific Command wouldn't confirm the North's bomber flight claim but said it has maintained a strategic bomber presence in the region for more than a decade. South Korea's Defense Ministry said Monday that two sets of South Korea-US military drills will begin next Monday and will run until April 18.

US Secretary of State John Kerry is set to visit Seoul on Thursday, according to the State Department.