North Korea says it is ready to resume talks on its nuclear program. It has also approved plans for a trans-Korean gas pipeline from Russia to South Korea. The statements followed a Russian-North Korean summit at a military base near Ulan-Ude, the capital city of Buryatia in southeast Siberia.
The more than two-hour meeting began with President Kim Jong Il thanking Dmitry Medvedev for an opportunity to visit Russia:
"I am very grateful to you that you have flown all the way down here to meet me. Thanks to your special understanding and care, we are having a very nice trip."
Most of the talks took place behind closed doors. Summing up the results, President Medvedev said that a wide range of trade and economic issues were discussed. The North Korean nuclear problem was also touched upon with President Kim pledging his country’s readiness to resume nuclear talks and introduce a moratorium on the production and testing of nuclear weapons.
Energy cooperation was among the central topics in Ulan-Ude. Russia proposed an ambitious project to build a gas pipeline that will run through North and South Korea. Addressing reporters after the summit, the Russian leader said that as far as gas cooperation was concerned, certain results had been achieved:
"We instructed our agencies to create a special commission to determine concrete parameters of gas transit via North Korea and to involve South Korea in this project because the main consumers are on its territory. As far as I can see, North Korea is keen to implement this trilateral project in cooperation with Russia and South Korea. We are starting technical work now. Some time ago, a Gazprom delegation visited North Korea. Yesterday, I instructed Chairman of Gazprom’s Board of Directors Alexei Miller to set to work on the issue. Let’s hope for a good project. The pipeline will have a total capacity of about 10 billion cubic meters per year. Depending on the demand, we are ready to increase this potential. The pipeline itself will be more than 1,100 long and a significant part of it will run through the North Korean territory."
Before the summit, Dmitry Medvedev and Kim Jong Il watched joint airborne assault drills.
The North Korean leader rarely goes abroad and never by plane. He always travels in his personal armored train amid tight security. It is prohibited to take photos of or videotape Kim Jong Il during the visit. The Korean side will collect video material for a future film about Russia.
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