Jimmy Carter meets N.Korean officials

By Wang Gang in Seoul and Jia Cheng in Beijing

Former US president Jimmy Carter began a three-day visit to North Korea on Tuesday, hoping to spark life in the flat-lining Six-Party Talks and inter-Korean dialogue.

North Korea is the second stop of Carter's three-nation tour, which will also take him to South Korea tomorrow. Carter and three other retired world leaders accompanying him also want to assess food shortages in the isolated nation.

North Korea's Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday that Carter met with North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun in Pyongyang, but did not elaborate on the meeting, according to AFP.

Carter hopes to meet Kim Jong-il and his son, Kim Jong-un, although he said in Beijing on Monday that he has yet to hear from the North if the meeting has been arranged.

China on Tuesday called again for dialogues and consultations to ease tensions between the Koreas, emphasizing that a peaceful solution is the only effective way to handle the issue, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Lü Chao, director of the Korean Research Center at China's Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that Carter's visit to North Korea would help ease tensions.

However, a high-ranking South Korean official has said that the government would maintain its tough stance toward North Korea, no matter what information was delivered by Carter from the North, according to the Seoul-based Joongang Daily.

Meanwhile, some South Korean media outlets lambasted Carter's visit.

According to the Seoul-based Dong-A Ilbo, "Seoul is not pinning big hopes on the visit of Carter's group to Pyongyang, believing that it is unlikely to bring a significant message that can push forward talks on denuclearization since the visit is a personal one."

The paper added that the delegation would fail to make a breakthrough. However, it would not only embarrass individual members but also dent the group's reputation as a whole.

Agencies contributed to this story