A moment rich in possibilities
Madeleine Albright invited to Pyongyang
The visit to the United States of First Deputy Chairman of the DPRK Defense Committee Marshal Jo Myong-rok ended on Thursday. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright accepted the Marshal's invitation to Kim Jong-il to visit Pyongyang. It is possible that she will go there at the end of October to prepare a meeting between the head of the DPRK and the US President.

Judging by the statements of officials in Washington, the Americans were unable to obtain assurances from Marshal Cho that Pyongyang would expel from North Korea the Japanese Red Army militants who hijacked a Japanese airliner in the DPRK in 1970. So the North Koreans have so far fulfilled only one of the conditions necessary to exclude the DPRK from the American list of “countries sponsoring terrorism”: Marshal Cho signed an agreement with the Americans on countering terrorism and cooperation in this area through the exchange of information.
And yet, he so charmed the hosts of the meeting that they were inclined to attach symbolic meaning to any of his gestures. Mr. Cho wore a marshal's uniform to a meeting with President Bill Clinton, and to negotiations at the State Department in a formal gray suit. The Americans saw in this disguise a hint that in the DPRK not only the civilian authorities, but also the military, which has enormous influence over them, are advocating normalization of relations with the United States.
Marshall Cho conveyed to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright an invitation from Mr. Kim Jong Il to visit the DPRK. It turned out that this was Mrs. Albright’s long-time dream - during a September visit to Iceland, she said that even before retiring (this will happen in January) she would like to visit North Korea. Accepting the invitation, she said: “This is a moment rich in opportunity on the Korean Peninsula and in our bilateral relations, and we will be poor diplomats if we squander them.” “We now have a chance to collectively write a new chapter in history for the benefit of our peoples and neighbors in the region,” added Ms. Albright. She may leave for Pyongyang as early as the end of October to prepare for a meeting between President Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
Marshall Cho said Kim Jong Il has decided to remove "confrontation and mistrust from bilateral relations" with the US (Pyongyang yesterday promised no more ballistic missile launches) and hopes President Clinton will do the same. Assessing the situation on the Korean Peninsula, in which “fundamental changes” were imminent after the June summit of the leaders of the two Korean states, Mr. Cho assured the US President that Kim Jong Il “will definitely make a very important political decision to move inter-Korean relations away from confrontation and hostility towards new relations friendship, cooperation and goodwill." However, he added, this will only happen if Pyongyang receives specific guarantees regarding the preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DPRK. Most likely, President Clinton will give such guarantees during his visit to Pyongyang.
The results of the US-North Korean negotiations in Washington were highly appreciated in South Korea and Russia, which are interested in peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. President Kim Dae-jung said that the establishment of diplomatic relations between the DPRK and the United States is now only a matter of time, and the opening of an American mission in Pyongyang can be expected soon. And Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Losyukov said that Russia “welcomes the expansion of the circle of external partners of the DPRK” and that “a new level of contacts between the United States and the DPRK is within the framework of Russia’s policy in this region.” Or I could say that Mrs. Albright, preparing for her visit to Pyongyang, is going to do what she criticized President Putin for in July - meet with the leader of the “rogue country.”
ANDREY Kommersant-IVANOV

Newspaper "Kommersant" No. 192 dated 10/13/2000, p. 10