11 September 2003 07:15
North Korean leader dissatisfied with Beijing talks, Russian envoy says
Vladivostok, 11 September: Speaking to journalists on his arrival from Pyongyang at Vladivostok airport, Russian president's plenipotentiary envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Konstantin Pulikovskiy described his visit to the People's Democratic Republic of Korea as successful. Pulikovskiy said that at the meeting with the Republic's leader Kim Jong-Il they discussed prospects of business cooperation between Russia and North Korea, as well as the situation on the Korean peninsula. Kim expressed his dissatisfaction with the results of the first six-sided multilateral talks on the Korean issue, held in Beijing recently, Pulikovskiy said. "To quote the North Korean leader, each side at the Beijing talks heard only what they were saying, without trying to look deeper into the issue", Pulikovskiy said. As for the situation in North Korea, Pulikovskiy said that despite the grand celebrations [of the 55th anniversary of North Korea], "the people of North Korea are living in poor conditions". However, he added, "the country's government is taking steps to improve the situation". [Passage omitted] Pulikovskiy said he had held several meetings with heads of North Korean enterprises. "Speaking to them, I felt their keen interest in Russian economy", he said. "Many North Koreans hope that the country's business cooperation with Russia will help improve their living conditions". [Passage omitted]
[RIA news agency] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
