SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is ready to hold direct talks with South Korea but the isolated state will not apologize for two deadly attacks on the divided peninsula last year, former US President Jimmy Carter said Thursday. Carter returned from a three-day trip to Pyongyang having failed to meet Kim, but he and three other former state leaders — known as the Elders— received a last-minute message from the leader saying he was willing to talk with anyone at anytime without preconditions. “He specifically told us he is prepared to meet directly with (South Korean) President Lee Myung-bak any time,” Carter told a press conference in Seoul. If Kim was willing to discuss nuclear and other military issues with South Korea, it would mark a change in policy — the North has previously said it would only discuss them with the United States. “Chairman and General Secretary Kim Jong-il said he is willing and the people of North Korea are willing to negotiate with South Korea or with the United States or with the six powers on any subject any time and without any preconditions.” Earlier however, Carter on his group's website (www.theelders.org) appeared to suggest that there were preconditions for six-party talks aimed at disarmament. “The sticking point — and it's a big one — is that they won't give up their nuclear program without some kind of security guarantee from the US” he said. The North has repeatedly stated it wants an assurance the United States will not attack it, as well as a peace treaty. Some 30,000 American troops are based in South Korea.
