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Albright to question South Korea about Kim Jong Il
SEOUL, South Korea -- U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was to attend a one-day meeting with South Korean officials Friday to gauge North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's seriousness about working toward peace on the Korean Peninsula. Albright reportedly hoped South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who met Kim Jong Il in a landmark summit last week, would be able to provide some insight into the North Korean leader. During that summit, North and South Korea signed an agreement committing themselves to work toward eventual reunification and to improve economic cooperation.
Albright was to leave Seoul later Friday for Poland, Israel and Berlin. She visited Beijing on Thursday, and asked Chinese leaders for their opinions of Kim Jong Il, who had met secretly with Beijing a few weeks ago. Wide-ranging discussionsAlbright said the Chinese gave her the impression Kim Jong Il was a good-humored and forthright person. "He was jovial and forthcoming, and interested and different from what we had all been led to believe," Albright said. "I think everybody is a little careful not to make a final judgement," she cautioned, however. While the United States recently eased some sanctions against North Korea, that country remains on the U.S. State Department's list of nations that sponsor terrorism. The U.S. is also concerned about North Korea's potential nuclear capabilities. During her visit to Beijing, Albright also urged China to resume cross-straits talks, saying Chen Shui-bian's election in March as Taiwan's president was an opportunity for new progress. Her appeal was rejected by Chinese President Jiang Zemin. She also raised the issue with Premier Zhu Rongji, Vice Premier Qian Qichen and Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan. Chinese officials have said repeatedly that they will not meet with Taiwan's leaders until they accept Beijing's definition of "one China," which says Taiwan is an inseparable part of the mainland. China focuses on missile defenseAlbright also discussed China's human rights record, its entry to the World Trade Organization, the U.S. House of Representatives vote to grant China Permanent Normal Trade Relations, and the recent inter-Korean summit. China, however, was more concerned about the United States' planned National Missile Defense and Theater Missile Defense systems. Beijing opposes both initiatives, suggesting they could lead to a new nuclear arms race. The U.S. had said the programs were designed for protection against possible missile strikes from rogue nations; for example, North Korea. Initially, the TMD was to protect Japan, but Taiwan also asked to be included in the project. "China has always believed that the United States' excuse for developing NMD and TMD does not hold water," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzhao. "And now that tensions have eased in Korea, that is even more true," Zhu said. State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel CNN's Elise Labott, and Reuters contributed to this report.
RELATED STORIES: Albright to discuss Taiwan, North Korea with Beijing RELATED SITES: Republic of China Government Information Office: Taiwan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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