Early this year, North Korea established diplomatic relations with Italy. It is either in talks or in contact with a number of countries, including the United States, Britain, Japan and Australia. Kim Yong Nam, speaker of North Korea's parliament and ceremonial head of state, and Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun are now in Cuba attending a summit of the Group of 77, an association of 133 nonaligned countries. Desperation vs. Reconciliation North Korea's overtures to the outside world could be an act of desperation as much as a desire for reconciliation. Years of famine brought on by drought, floods and economic mismanagement forced the totalitarian state to appeal for food donations from international donors, including the United States.
Aid workers say the situation remains precarious.
Many obstacles to a lasting peace on the Korean peninsula remain. North Korea's missile and nuclear programs and human rights record are a great source of concern to officials in Seoul, Washington and elsewhere. North Korea also wants the United States to remove it from a U.S. list of countries that sponsor terrorist activities. Washington says Pyongyang was put on the list because of its involvement in the mid-air bombing of a South Korean airliner near Burma, now Myanmar, in 1987. All 115 people on board the Korean Air plane died.