RI envoy holds talks with North Korean FM
RI envoy holds talks with North Korean FM
A special Indonesian envoy held talks with North Korea's foreign
minister in Pyongyang on Saturday to help defuse the crisis over
the country's nuclear ambitions, the official news agency
reported.
Veteran diplomat Nana Sutresna, a special envoy from President
Megawati Sukarnoputri, held talks with North Korea's Foreign
Minister Paek Nam Sun at the Mansudae assembly hall in Pyongyang,
the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
Sutresna and Paek discussed bilateral issues as well as the
present situation in the Korean peninsula, KCNA said, describing
the encounter as "friendly".
The Indonesian delegation also included Jakarta's ambassador
to North Korea, the agency said.
Earlier a foreign ministry spokesman said Sutresna had flown
to Pyongyang for a four-day mission "to deliver a message from
the president about Indonesia's stance on the situation in the
Korean peninsula".
"It is very disconcerting and we hope that the crisis in the
Korean peninsula can be resolved through dialogue," foreign
ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa told AFP.
Sutresna, the former Indonesian ambassador to Britain, is also
due to meet North Korean number two Kim Yong-Nam on Saturday,
Natalegawa said, adding that it was not clear if the envoy would
also meet the country's supreme leader Kim Jong-Il.
Megawati visited South and North Korea in March last year and
met Kim Jong-Il. She urged the North to resume dialogue with the
world and delivered a message from the South Korean leadership.
Indonesia has friendly ties with both Koreas. South Korea is a
major investor while relations with North Korea date back to a
visit by Megawati's father, president Sukarno, to Pyongyang in
1964.
The present crisis erupted after the United States revealed in
October that North Korea had admitted to running a secret
enriched uranium program in violation of a 1994 accord under
which the Stalinist country froze nuclear activities.
U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday warned he had not
ruled out military action against Pyongyang. -- AFP