U.S., N.K. discuss concrete ways for diplomatic rapprochement

Jo Myong-Rok, first vice chairman of the North Korean Defense Commission, who is now visiting Washington, held a series of meetings with State Secretary Madeleine Albright and Defense Secretary William Cohen to discuss concrete ways of normalizing diplomatic relations between the two countries, including the establishment of representative offices in each other's capital.

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jo paid a courtesy call to the State Department and exchanged views on the improvement of bilateral relations, the opening of representative offices, the removal of North Korea from the list of terrorism-sponsoring states, the North's abandonment of its missile development program and other matters of mutual concern.

In particular, the two leaders intensively discussed ways to terminate the decades of hostile relations since the Korean War and move toward peace and reconciliation, in line with North Korean Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-Il's personal message to President Bill Clinton.

Wendy Sherman, State Department coordinator for U.S. policy on North Korea, disclosed that during Jo's U.S. visit, the two sides will discuss a wide range of issues, including diplomatic normalization and the setup of representative offices, noting that the offices would bring the two nations one step closer to ushering in full diplomatic ties.

Afterwards, the visiting North Korean leader met with Secretary Cohen and the two men exchanged views on pending bilateral issues such as the replacement of the 1953 Armistice Agreement with a peace treaty, North Korea's missile and nuclear issues, the U.S. military presence in Korea and other matters of military concern.

On Tuesday, Jo said in a speech at a dinner hosted by the State Department that North Korean leader Kim would make a serious effort to transform the hostile relationship between the two countries into peaceful and friendly ties if North Korea's sovereignty and security are guaranteed. Revealing that Kim Jong-Il delivered his message to President Clinton, he said that he was optimistic about an epochal improvement in bilateral relations.

The North Korean vice defense commission chairman is scheduled to return home Thursday via San Francisco. At the end of his U.S, visit, the two sides will issue a joint statement on the result of his Washington visit.