N. Korean parliamentary speaker meets British lawmakers: report

SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's parliamentary chief met with visiting
British lawmakers on Thursday, Pyongyang's news agency said.
A British parliamentary delegation, led by the House of Lords' David Alton,
arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday, following North Korean party officials' visit to
Britain last week.
"Choe Thae-bok, chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly, held talks in a
friendly atmosphere" with Alton and other British lawmakers, the Korean Central
News Agency said in a brief report. It did not announce the purpose of their
visit or how long they will stay.
Alton is chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea, which is
made up of British lawmakers working to enhance relations with Pyongyang.
Last week, North Korea sent a delegation of the ruling Workers' Party to London,
which reportedly met with European Union officials and Glyn Ford, a British
lawmaker well versed on North Korean issues.
The North Korean party delegation expressed hope for resuscitating exchanges with
the EU and acquiring technology to build tidal power plants, according to Radio
Free Asia, a U.S.-based station.
European countries drastically slashed trade with and economic aid to North Korea
after Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests in 2006. The EU's trade with North
Korea reached its highest point of 1.65 billion euro (US$2.11 billion) in 2005,
but then shrank to 126 million euro in 2007, according to Seoul's Unification
Ministry.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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