NORTH KOREA: MADELEINE ALBRIGHT MEETS KIM JONG-IL

Описание: (23 Oct 2000) Natural Sound
XFA
Madeleine Albright made history on Sunday when she arrived in Pyongyang for high level talks with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il.

She's the first U-S Secretary of State ever to visit the country.

In the past, relations between the U-S and North Korea have been grim at best.

But Albright hopes her two-day visit will be the start of better relations which will in turn help to diffuse the tension in Northeast Asia for the first time in decades.

North Korea's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kim Gye Guan was the first to greet Albright, and, after shaking hands with the rest of the welcome party, she made her way to a waiting limousine, stopping briefly to accept some flowers from an 8-year-old boy.

The motorcade then made its way to the centre of Pyongyang.

Down the road, a large sign attached to the front of one of the buildings read, "The Great Leader Kim Il Sung is always with us."

Albright left Washington shortly after midnight Sunday on the 17-hour journey to the North Korean capital, a city U.S. forces had reduced to rubble during the Korean War.

It is now a metropolis with tall buildings and broad boulevards, although with scarcely
any traffic.

If her talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il go well, Clinton will follow her to Pyongyang as part of an Asia trip next month, administration officials said.

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