South Korean Foreign Minister Lee Joung-Binn said Sunday that the two Koreas would launch a joint campaign to win international support for their rapprochement at next month's UN Millennium summit.
"North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-Sun has sent a written message of agreement on the plan, reflecting progress in inter-Korean ties," Lee told a television talk show.
The message followed the first inter-Korean foreign ministerial meeting last month ahead of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Bangkok, he said.
The forum marked North Korea's diplomatic debut, with Paek conducting a celebrated series of get-togethers with his counterparts from the United States and Asian countries.
The forum helped North Korea free itself from diplomatic isolation, but the famine-hit country needs much help from international organizations such as the Asia Development Bank (ADB), Lee said.
"The North is required to normalize relations with the United States and Japan, the two major shareholders of ADB, to receive financial aid," he added -- SEOUL (AFP)
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