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SLUG: 2-298889 North Korea / Envoy / Holding
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DATE=01/28/03 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=NORTH KOREA / ENVOY (S HOLDING) NUMBER=2-298889 BYLINE=AMY BICKERS DATELINE=TOKYO CONTENT= VOICED AT: // Re-issuing, correcting name in first graph of text // INTRO: A South Korean presidential envoy is expected to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang (later Tuesday). As V-O-A's Amy Bickers reports, the envoy is in the North to attempt to resolve the international stand-off over the North's nuclear weapons.
TEXT: South Korean special envoy Lim Dong-won characterizes his talks with North Korean officials as "sincere." He arrived in Pyongyang Monday on a mission to reduce nuclear tensions. Mr. Lim meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to give him a letter from President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea. Officials in Seoul say it urges the North to give up its nuclear programs. The North's official media is airing effusive descriptions of Mr. Lim's visit, saying Monday's discussions were held in an atmosphere of mutual understanding overflowing with compatriotic feelings. However, it also issued a diatribe against of the U-N's International Atomic Energy Agency, which is considering whether to refer North Korea's nuclear violations to the U-N Security Council. The crisis began in October, when the United States said the North admitted to a covert nuclear arms program. Pyongyang has since denied doing so. (SIGNED) NEB/HK/AB/JO
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