US Secretary of State Meets DPRK FM for 'Informal Chat'

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 31, 2002

US Secretary of State Meets DPRK FM for 'Informal Chat'

US Secretary of State Colin Powell met Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) briefly on the sidelines of ASEAN Regional Forum Wednesday in Bandar seri Begawan.

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US Secretary of State Colin Powell had a 15-minute informal chat with Paek Num Sun, foreign minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Wednesday morning, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), a spokesman for Powell said.

During the chat, Powell told Paek that he noted the recent statements the DPRK has made, spokesman Richard Boucher said, referring to DPRK's regret on its naval clash with South Korea andits call for resumption of dialogue with the South.

Powell was quoted as saying that in any future discussions, Washington would want to emphasize a variety of matters including proliferation and conventional forces.

The US Secretary of State also told Paek that Washington would consider the statements the DPRK made as for follow-on meetings ortravel to the country, according to Boucher.

The DPRK delegation could not be contacted for immediate comments on the brief encounter.

The Powell-Paek contact is the first between the US and DPRK foreign ministers since Paek met Powell's predecessor, Madeleine Albright, on the sidelines of the 2000 ASEAN meetings in Bangkok.

Paek told reporters earlier that he was ready to meet Powell ifthe US side proposes first.

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