The African-Asian summit currently in progress in Jakarta is turning out to be a meeting ground for some of the world's most affected nations. After a historic meeting between the Chinese and Japanese leaders, the leaders of the two Koreas decided to meet in an attempt to clear doubts over North Korea's nuclear plans.
In a discussion that lasted for about 30 mins, the second-ranked leaders of the two Koreas had a frank discussion on issues important to their continuing bilateral relations. South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan and North Korea's president of parliament, Kim Yong-nam, appeared satisfied after the talks;
"It was the highest-level meeting between the South and the North since the summit on June 15, 2002. We had a great deal of frank discussions on important issues ... going beyond scheduled time. It was a good meeting. We had frank discussions about dialogue between the authorities (of the South and North) and the six party talks," Lee said.
Kim Yong Nam said North Korea was ready to return to the talks "when conditions were right."
But there did not appear to be any consensus reached on the resumption of the six-party talks that were boycotted by the North. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was pleased that the two leaders had the informal discussions and hope it would lead to a resumption in constructive talks, "On the North Korean issue - attempts are being made to resolve the issue diplomatically through the six-party talks. I know attempts are being made to bring everybody back to the table." Mr. Annan said.
In related news, The Wall Street Journal today carried reports that a nuclear test by North Korea is imminent and wanted China to convince North to refrain from conducting any tests.
