SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES RESUMPTION OF HIGH-LEVEL DIALOGUE BETWEEN

UNITED STATES AND DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General welcomes the resumption of high-level dialogue between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  He hopes that the discussions by the U.S. Presidential Envoy, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly, with the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly Kim Yong Nam and other officials in Pyongyang helped both sides to better understand their respective positions and concerns.

The Secretary-General is hopeful that this important development is the beginning of more regular exchanges by both sides with a view to resolving their differences, however serious.  It is the view of the Secretary-General that the international community should continue its efforts to facilitate the encouraging trends in the Korean peninsula.

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