Winston Peters has accepted an invitation to visit North Korea - one of the countries branded part of the "Axis of Evil", by President Bush.
The foreign minister agreed to the visit when he met his North Korean counterpart Pak Vi Chun in Manila yesterday.
"I was happy
to accept Minister Pak's invitation, as I want to see for myself how New Zealand might contribute to international efforts to assist development in North Korea," Mr Peters said today.
The meeting offered a chance to explain New Zealand's long-standing wish to see peace and security on the Korean peninsula, and its strong support for the current Six Party Talks process.
In 2002, the United States accused North Korea of operating a covert uranium enrichment program in violation of a 1994 nuclear-freeze deal. In December 2002, the North expelled IAEA inspectors and said it would restart its reactor.
However, in January, the isolated country reached agreed to an aid-for-disarmament-deal after participating in the Six Party Talks, alongside with the United States, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia.
North Korea shut down a nuclear reactor in July after the first shipment of oil arrived under the deal.
Mr Peters, who is in the Philippines for the Asean Regional Forum and associated meetings, said he was pleased North Korea had honoured its agreement to shutdown its Yongbyon nuclear reactor and allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to return.
"While much remains to be done, New Zealand is encouraged by the current mood of both North Korea and the international community to move rapidly towards implementing agreements reached during February's Six Party Talks.
"We hope North Korea will continue to work closely with its Six Party Talks colleagues, because our long-held view is that peace and security on the Korean peninsula is fundamental to the political and economic stability of the wider Asian region.
- NZPA
