The Foreign Office is also in the process of re-establishing political ties with the former Yugoslavia, leaving just Iraq and Bhutan outside the diplomatic fold with Britain. Mr Cook said the shift in policy was requested by the South Korean president, Kim Dae-jung, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week for breaking with a history of confrontation to engage the North in dialogue. In June, he became the first leader from the South to travel to Pyongyang, where he held a summit with his counterpart, Kim Jong-il. The summit has created the real opportunity for lasting peace and reconciliation. Human rights groups, however, warned that Britain should not ignore reports of torture and other violations in North Korean prisons.
Questions are also likely to be asked about the North's ballistic missile programme.
The opening of full ties will not happen immediately, he said, and it will be some time before an embassy is established in Pyongyang. At tomorrow's Asia-Europe summit, leaders from the two continents are expected to back the peace process. South Korea hopes the west will also help to develop the impoverished North and pave the way towards reunification. In a sign of the growing thaw, Madeleine Albright will make the first visit to Pyongyang by an American secretary of state later this month.