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