March 7 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration wants dialogue with North Korea and believes the communist nation should stop its rhetoric against South Korea, Stephen Bosworth, the new U.S. special envoy to Pyongyang, said today.

“We’re reaching out now,” Bosworth told reporters in Incheon, South Korea after arriving from Japan. “I don’t at this point have plans to travel to North Korea on this trip.”

Bosworth’s first tour of Asia since his appointment last month comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula.

U.S. and South Korean officials said last month that North Korea is preparing to test a ballistic missile theoretically capable of reaching Alaska. South Korean airlines yesterday diverted flights after the communist state said it was unable to guarantee the safety of aircraft during U.S.-South Korea military exercises.

“I don’t think the warning was very helpful, and I think everyone would be a lot happier if they would drop that line of rhetoric,” Bosworth said today.

North and South Korea are still technically at war as their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty. They are separated on the 38th parallel, where 1.7 million soldiers face off each day.

North Korea denies it is preparing to launch a missile and said Feb. 24 it is preparing to launch a communications satellite as part of a peaceful space project.

“We’ve indicated our position to them on the question of the missile launch, or satellite launch, or whatever they call it,” Bosworth said. “We think it’s very ill advised.”

He said it is too early to set a date for the next round of nuclear disarmament talks involving China, Japan, South Korea, the U.S., Russia and North Korea.

Negotiations have stalled since Kim Jong Il’s regime refused to let inspectors remove samples from its Yongbyon reactor, the source of the country’s weapons grade plutonium.

North Korea, which tested a nuclear bomb in 2006, agreed in February 2007 to scrap its nuclear program in return for energy aid and normal diplomatic ties with the U.S. and Japan.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kevin Cho in Seoul at kcho2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 7, 2009 01:09 EST