Britain to begin relations with N. Korea

In from the cold: North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il

LONDON, England -- Britain has announced it is to open diplomatic relations with North Korea for the first time.

British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said the UK had received "an approach" from North Korea last month and that it would "respond positively" to it.

His announcement on Thursday comes on the eve of a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il.

AUDIO We hope to help North Korea to understand the modern world 490K/45 sec. WAV sound

Relations between the West and North Korea have been thawing since June this year when South Korean President Kim Dae-jung -- who received the Nobel Peace Prize last week -- held a historic summit meeting with Kim Jong Il.

Cook said the move gave Britain -- which has never held relations with North Korea since the creation of the communist state 50 years ago -- the opportunity to raise human rights concerns.

Cook, who is in Seoul, South Korea, for the Asia-Europe ASEM summit, said: "The president of South Korea is very keen that other countries help to engage North Korea by bringing it in from the cold."

Cook: Britain will "respond positively"

He added: "The more countries that have relations with North Korea and promote dialogue with it, the better chance we have of achieving momentum on the developing peace relations between North and South Korea.

"We also have a quite wide range of concerns about North Korea. If we have diplomatic relations we have a better chance of promoting our dialogue on that and exploring our concerns."

He told BBC radio that establishing diplomatic relations was "not something that is conditional and certainly does not imply any approval of the regime."

He said: "After all, we have diplomatic relations around the world with governments with whose human rights records...we have very great concerns.

"The advantage of having diplomatic relations is that we can have a dialogue in which we can raise those concerns and express our deep anxiety about the need for improvement in them.

"I would stress that the opening of diplomatic relations is not in any way an approval of the conduct of the regime, but it may well be helpful in resolving what is one of the big problems of North Korean relations with the rest of the world, which is the strong tension between it and South Korea.

"If our action, and the actions of like-minded European countries, helps to take forward that process of reducing the tension between the two countries, that will be a valuable and helpful step towards world peace."

Albright will visit N. Korea next week

Albright's two-day visit to Pyongyang, which starts on Sunday, will be followed immediately by a meeting in Seoul with South Korean and Japanese officials.

Albright has said she would be "probing to see whether the openings for which Kim Dae-jung got the much-deserved Nobel prize allows for us to look at a different set of relationships with North Korea -- but based on our own national interests."

Kim won the prestigious award for his push for warmer ties with North Korea.

He has made improved relations with the North one of the main planks of his presidency since taking office in 1998.

His meeting with his North Korean counterpart was the first meeting of the leaders of the two countries since the end of the Korean War.

Albright's visit could set the stage for one by U.S. President Bill Clinton, possibly in November when he is due to visit Vietnam.

Last week, North Korea's Vice Marshal Jo Myong Rok, who is second in power in Pyongyang, visited Clinton at the White House.

Reuters contributed to this report.

South Korean president wins Nobel Peace Prize
October 13, 2000
High ranking N. Korean official to visit Washington
September 29, 2000

Foreign & Commonwealth Office
U.S. State Department

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.