N.Korean foreign minister to visit Italy

September 19, 2000
Web posted at: 5:59 AM HKT (2159 GMT)

ROME (Reuters) -- North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun will come to Italy this month in a rare visit to a Western country, the foreign ministry said Monday.

The September 27-28 visit is the latest effort to end North Korea's diplomatic isolation and may lead to a thawing of relations with the Vatican.

Paek will meet Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini. It will be the second bilateral meeting between the two countries since Italy re-established diplomatic relations with the totalitarian state in January.

Dini's visit to North Korea in March was the first by a senior Group of Seven minister to the hard-line Communist state.

It was not immediately clear whether Paek would meet Prime Minister Giuliano Amato or other top government officials.

The foreign ministry spokesman said the two ministers were expected to discuss progress in the recent thawing of relations between Communist North Korea and South Korea, bilateral relations and economic ties.

Italy, Russia and Canada are so far the only countries among the Group of Eight (G8) most industrialised nations to have diplomatic relations with impoverished North Korea.

It was also not clear if Paek would have any meetings at the Vatican.

When South Korean President Kim Dae-jung visited North Korea in June, a South Korean spokesman said Kim had brought up the idea of a trip by Pope John Paul to North Korea during talks with North Korean President Kim Jong-il.

The North Korean leader reportedly gave his approval. South Korea's ambassador to the Vatican, Bae Yang-il, said he discussed the possibility later with the Holy See's foreign minister.

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