The North Korean Foreign Ministry claims that Seoul's experiments with uranium and plutonium in 1982 and 2000 had a military motive behind them, the country's Central News Agency reports. Associated Press fears that this report may undermine the six-party talks aimed at having North Korea give up its nuclear ambitions.
Bill Rammel, UK Foreign Office Minister of State, is today arriving in Pyongyang for an official visit. This will be the first-ever visit by a senior British government official to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Foreign Office spokespeople told RIA Novosti.
London and Pyongyang established diplomatic relations in December 2000, but the British government has until now rejected all of the DPRK's proposals on mutual visits, citing the Korean side's unwillingness to discuss its human rights record.
During his three-day sojourn in North Korea, Mr Rammel is scheduled to meet, among others, with the host country's Foreign Minister, Paek Nam-sun. Speaking to reporters ahead of the visit, the Foreign Office minister pointed out that the United Kingdom was sincerely interested in improving its relations with North Korea and that his trip seemed well timed, with North Korean officials having for the first time agreed to discuss human rights with the British side.
"I will express to the North Korean authorities the UK's deep concern at the state's nuclear programme," Mr Rammell announced in a statement. He went on to say that he would also voice Britain's full support for the six-party negotiations, calling on North Korea to remain committed to their declared goal-the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Speaking of the DPRK's human rights record, the British Foreign Office minister said he would try to take the discussion beyond the Korean side's automatic rejection of any abuse and would urge the Korean government to comply with UN Human Rights Commission resolutions.
Through Mr Rammell, London may offer to the DPRK an opportunity to reintegrate into the international community, following in Libya's footsteps, The Financial Times predicts. The Home Office minister may cite Libya as an example of how far a nation can come if it agrees to cooperate with the international community and to give up its ambitions to develop weapons of mass destruction, says the newspaper.
Mr Rammel said he personally had no illusions about the results of his visit, but that he would try to start dialogue in order to pull North Korea out of isolation. This would make it possible for the country to get international aid and additional energy supplies, he added.
Although it is not taking part in the negotiations over North Korea's nuclear program, the UK remains one of the five permanent UN Security Council members and one of the key European Union nations, and as such is capable of playing a significant role in settling the conflict.
