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DPRK Deputy Foreign Minister Visits France
Deputy Foreign Minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Choe Su-Hon has started his three-day visit in France for talks on forging bilateral relations, Agence France-Presse reported Monday.
Choe, arriving here on Sunday from Berlin, has visited the two French enterprises, Alcatel and Alstom on Monday, "with an aim of contracts in the fields of telecommunications and energy", reported AFP quoting sources from DPRK.
During his visit, Choe will meet with Dominique Girard, director of Asian-Pacific affairs of the French Foreign Ministry.
France and Ireland are the only two in the 15-nation European Union (EU) that have not established diplomatic relations with Pyongyang.
Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain led a flurry of EU nations to open relations with Pyongyang last year following the historic inter-Korean peninsula summit.
The visit of the DPRK diplomat is regarded as "a step forward in the development of political dialogue between France and DPRK," said French Foreign Ministry last month.
Last week, the EU decided to take initial steps to establish relations with DPRK by sending a delegation to Pyongyang in May.
Paris insists on two preconditions for the delegation to start their trip: be able to meet with DPRK leader Kim Jong-Il and to discuss human rights situation, nuclear arms and economic cooperation.
Choe said the two conditions are accepted, according to AFP.
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