British, DPRK Officials Meet to Discuss TiesBritish and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) officials met in London Thursday, December 7, for talks on how to improve their relations, British official said.But the two-day talks are not expected to touch on plans to open diplomatic relations for the first time since the DPRK's founding in 1948. The Foreign Office also made it clear that the meeting was unlikely to produce an immediate breakthrough. "It would be wrong to lead you to believe on Friday afternoon there will be an announcement (on opening ties)," a Reuters report quoted a Foreign Office spokeswoman as saying. She said the talks would concentrate on Britain's concerns over nuclear nonproliferation, the DPRK's missile technology and export plans and human rights in the Asian state. "Then they will touch on the possibility of opening ties," she said. The current meeting was the latest in a series of meetings launched five years ago between the two nations. In October, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said he would respond positively to a request from Pyongyang to establish diplomatic relations. The DPRK has opened ties with Canada, Italy and Australia this year in a flurry of diplomacy after five decades of isolation. British and DPRK foreign ministry officials have held regular meetings since 1995 which have focused until now on security issues. |
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