PYONGYANG: Former President Jimmy Carter and other past world leaders were hoping to meet with North Korea's ruler as they began a three-day mission Tuesday to discuss dangerous food shortages and stalled nuclear disarmament talks. Children presented flowers to Carter, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Brundtland and former Irish President Mary Robinson at the airport, and the group was greeted by Vice Foreign Minister Ri Yong -ho. The former leaders did not know ahead of their three-day trip who they would meet with, but said they hoped to have talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his son and heir apparent Kim Jong-un. Also likely on the agenda are the dismal ties between North and South Korea, which have ruined efforts to restart talks on persuading the North to abandon its atomic weapons ambitions. South Korea reacted coolly to the trip. “We don't have high expectations,” South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan told reporters Tuesday when asked if the Carter visit might change North Korea's attitude. “I don't think it's necessary for North Korea to talk to us through a third party.” It is not the first time Carter has traveled to North Korea during a period of high tension. In 1994, he met with then-leader Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il's father and the North's founder, and helped broker a US-North Korea nuclear deal. Carter's trip comes amid efforts on several fronts to reinvigorate the stalled six-nation nuclear negotiations. China's top nuclear envoy arrived in Seoul on Tuesday for talks, while a South Korean delegation was to meet with US diplomats in Washington. North Korea's nuclear envoy reportedly traveled to Beijing earlier this month to discuss the negotiations, which involve the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia. The former world leaders also plan to discuss food shortages that could threaten many North Koreans.
