N. Korea, E. Timor invited

N. Korea, E. Timor invited

SEOUL (AFP): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the
World Bank have invited North Korea to attend their joint
assembly panel to be held later this month, the IMF's head
delegate here said Monday.

The unprecedented invitation comes as the Stalinist North,
isolated for decades from the world, is trying to reach out in an
apparent bid to get help in overcoming its economic failures.

"We've invited North Korea and East Timor as special guests,"
David Coe, IMF representative to South Korea, told AFP.

The panel is to be held in Prague, Czechoslovakia, from Sept.
19-28.

"The special guests will be allowed to attend, not all, but
some of the meetings to interact with other members and to
familiarize with the systems (of the international financial
institutions)," Coe added.

But the IMF official said it was "not correct" to relate the
move to the North's possible joining of the international body.

"An IMF delegation visited the North in 1997, but it could not
find out North Korea's standing on it," he said.