SOUTH KOREA/NORTH KOREA: Former American President Jimmy Carter and group of "Elders" arrive in Pyongyang aiming to restart dialogue, South Korean Foreign Minister Kim skeptical of visit

Record ID: 1371997

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA/NORTH KOREA: Former American President Jimmy Carter and group of "Elders" arrive in Pyongyang aiming to restart dialogue, South Korean Foreign Minister Kim skeptical of visit
  • Date: 27th April 2011
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (APRIL 26, 2011) (REUTERS) SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER KIM SUNG-HWAN ENTERING NEWS BRIEFING ROOM WIDE VIEW OF NEWS BRIEFING KIM SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER KIM SUNG-HWAN SAYING "Personally, I don't see why North Korea would send a message through a third party or civilians when various channels for dialogue are open, including North Korean media." KIM LISTENING QUESTION OFFICIALS AND JOURNALISTS AT NEWS BRIEFING (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER KIM SUNG-HWAN SAYING "If you're asking my honest personal opinion, I don't expect much from this visit since it is a purely private one." NEWS BRIEFING IN PROGRESS KIM LEAVING
  • Embargoed: 11th May 2011 23:57
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Korea, Democratic People's Republic of, Korea, Republic of
  • City:
  • Country: Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA1MED7KJEA879VSBXAAY03HKQB
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday (April 26) in the hopes of restarting talks between the North and South and discussing ways to alleviate food shortages in the North.
    Carter is part of "The Elders," a group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela. The delegation to Pyongyang included former Presidents Martti Ahtisaari of Finland and Mary Robinson of Ireland, and former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Brundtland.
    The Elders were invited by the North Korean government and are scheduled to meet with ailing North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and his son and heir apparent Kim Jong-un, along with other senior officials and diplomats.
    The Elders are scheduled to spend three days in Pyongyang, before flying to Seoul on Thursday (April 28), where they will meet with South Korean officials.
    South Korean Foreign Minister played down the Elders' visit, but said he would meet the delegates in Seoul at the end of the week when they conclude their three-day visit to Pyongyang.
    "Personally, I don't see why North Korea would send a message through a third party or civilians when various channels for dialogue are open," Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan told a news briefing on Tuesday (April 26).
    "If you're asking my honest personal opinion, I don't expect much from this visit since it is a purely private one," Kim added.
    Carter's visit comes as momentum builds toward a resumption of aid-for-disarmament talks, which the North quit in 2009 but now wants to rejoin. The six-party talks involve the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.
    The United States and South Korea want the North "to show a responsible attitude" for last year's two deadly attacks on the peninsula, which spiked tensions to their highest level in years. The two Koreas are still technically at war having only signed a truce to end the 1950-53 Korean War.
    Both Seoul and Washington are skeptical about the North's sincerity about denuclearising, and have demanded Pyongyang take concrete actions to show it is willing to ditch its nuclear weapons program.
    The group will also look at the isolated state's food shortages. More than 6 million people in North Korea urgently need food aid because of substantial falls in domestic production, food imports and international aid, the United Nations said last month.
    Carter has a long history of dealing with North Korea. His 1994 talks with the late Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il's father, paved the way for the Agreed Framework the same year -- an agreement designed to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.
    North Korea has detained several Americans in recent years, increasing tension levels in what is already a rocky relationship between Pyongyang and Washington.
    In August, Carter helped secure the release of Aijalon Mahli Gomes, a U.S. citizen who had been fined roughly $600,000 U.S. dollars and sentenced to eight years of hard labor for crossing over the Chinese border into North Korea.
    Earlier this month, North Korea reported through state-run news agency KCNA that it had arrested U.S. citizen Jun Young Su last year for "committing a crime" against the reclusive nation.
    North Korea's news agency did not provide details of the nature of the alleged crime and it is unknown how and if Carter's visit will affect his detention.
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