DPRK Envoy Arrives in United StatesSenior DPRK envoy Vice Marshall Jo Myong-Rok arrived in San Francisco Sunday on the highest level mission ever by an official to the United States, US officials said.Jo, the right-hand man of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, flew in on a United Airlines flight from Beijing, at the start of a four-day visit which both sides hope will ease volatile Cold War relations. Jo, 68, is scheduled to move on to Washington on Monday, before meeting President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Tuesday. Washington has cautiously welcomed North Korea's recent diplomatic emergence, but has said it must still see concrete evidence Kim Jong-Il is committed to change. Jo's visit will include talks on the chasm of differing views separating the two sides, including Pyongyang's missile program and US concerns that it has sold military technology to US adversaries. Another area of deep disagreement is terrorism, which the US accuses the North Korean government of supporting. |
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