Seoul, 06/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - A delegation from the European Parliament headed by the former president of the European Commission, Jacques Santer (EPP, Luxembourg), last week visited North Korea. According to Mr Santer, the delegation called for dialogue to be opened between Pyongyang and Europe on the subject of human rights and Korea's missile programme. Mr Santer pointed out that the conversations had been "open and constructive" but that the North Korean interlocutors had not made any commitment regarding human rights. According to Reuters, he said that the Korean Vice Foreign Minister, Choe Su-hon, had told MEPs: "We have to import our rice because there is a shortage of rice. If we cannot export our missiles we have to have compensation. Someone has to pay for our rice". Mr Santer also hoped there would be greater coordination between the EU Member States on the matter of normalising their relations with North Korea.
Another member of the EP delegation, British Labour member Glyn Ford, said the MEPs had also met Vice Defence Minister Ryo Chun-sok, who had mainly noted that "an agreement may be reached" between Pyongyang and Washington on the subject of North Korean missile exports. (Last Friday, talks between the USA and North Korea in Kuala Lumpur ended without an agreement being reached).