USA: North Korea and United States open historic talks in New York

The United States and North Korea opened talks on Monday (March 5) on steps towards establishing diplomatic relations following Pyongyang's agreement to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme. North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill met at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. More than 50 years after the Korean war, the United States and North Korea began historic talks in New York on Monday (March 5) on steps towards establishing diplomatic relations in the wake of Pyongyang's decision to abandon its nuclear programme. North Korea's top nuclear negotiator, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, met U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel, a U.S. official said. Neither Kim nor Hill made a statement about their dicsussions. They were due to meet again on Tuesday amid rising expectations of improved relations between the United States and a country President George W. Bush called part of the "axis of evil" five years ago. Before his talks with Hill, the North Korean envoy's first stop was the Korea Society, a nonprofit organisation that promotes understanding and cooperation between Americans and Koreans. There he met academics and VIPs, including former U.S. Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright. "We had a very good and fruitful and friendly meeting," Albright told reporters as she emerged from the meeting. It was the first U.S. visit by Kim since diplomatic tension over North Korea's nuclear ambitions flared in 2002. Under an agreement reached at six-nation talks in Beijing last month, the United States and North Korea are due to discuss establishing diplomatic ties. North Korea, which tested a nuclear weapon last October, agreed in Beijing to shut down its main nuclear reactor by mid-April as a step towards abandoning its nuclear program in exchange for aid. Kim arrived in New York on Friday and met South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, Chun Yung-woo, at the weekend.

ITN Source | March 6, 2007

Tags:. .organisation. .minister. .improved. .hotel. .relations