North Korea has agreed to revive stalled dialogue with Seoul and Washington, a South Korean envoy said yesterday upon returning to Seoul from the communist North.
The two Koreas "have agreed to restore to normal South-North relations that have temporarily been frozen," the envoy, Lim Dong-won, said in a nationally televised news conference.
Lim also said North Korean leader Kim Jong-il "has expressed willingness to open dialogue with the United States, and will accept a US envoy's visit to the North."
During his four-day stay in the North, Lim met with Kim Jong-il and other top North Korean officials to discuss stalled inter-Korean dialogue and icy relations between Washington and North Korea.
According to Lim, Kim Jong-il said he accepts a proposed visit to North Korea by Jack Pritchard, a top Washington expert on the communist country. The date of the US envoy's visit will be set in coming contacts between Washington and Pyongyang, Lim said.
Lim also said he understands that Donald Gregg, a former US ambassador to South Korea, either began a visit to the North on Friday, or was about to arrive yesterday. Gregg had earlier said he wanted to encourage North Korea to revive talks with the US.
Lim said he had conveyed to the North Korean leader a message from South Korean President Kim Dae-jung urging Pyongyang to break out of isolation and build ties with the outside world, especially with the US and Japan.
The envoy said the North Korean leader responded "positively."
After walking across the border yesterday at the truce village of Panmunjom, 56km north of Seoul, Lim told reporters that his trip to the North ``yielded more good results than expected.''
RSS