INDONESIAN PRESIDENT SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO HAS CANCELLED A PLANNED TRIP TO NORTH KOREA NEXT WEEK BECAUSE OF INCREASED TENSIONS OVER ITS RECENT MISSILE TESTS, THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE SAID THURSDAY, DPA REPORTED. YUDHOYONO, WHO WAS SCHEDULED TO VISIT THE RECLUSIVE STATE BEGINNING JULY 17, ALSO SENT A LETTER ASKING PRESIDENT KIM JUNG-IL TO RETURN TO SIX-PARTY TALKS ABOUT NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAMME, SPOKESMAN DINO PATTI DJALAL TOLD REPORTERS. "THIS DECISION WAS BASED ON AN INFORMED JUDGMENT AND REVIEW OF THE LATEST SITUATION," DJALAL SAID AS YUDHOYONO WAS PREPARING TO BOARD AN AIRPLANE TO VISIT THE NORTH SUMATRAN CITY OF MEDAN, ACCORDING TO THE STATE-RUN ANTARA NEWS AGENCY. INDONESIA, WHICH HAS MAINTAINED CLOSE RELATIONS WITH NORTH KOREA SINCE THE 1950S, HAD DISPATCHED A SPECIAL ENVOY TO PYONGYANG LAST WEEK URGING KIM TO HALT FURTHER MISSILE TESTS AFTER NORTH KOREA FIRED SEVERAL MISSILES TOWARD JAPAN ON JULY 5. THE INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT IN RECENT MONTHS HAD SOUGHT TO USE ITS INFLUENCE WITH KIM, WHOSE FATHER KIM IL-SUNG WAS FRIENDS WITH FOUNDING INDONESIAN PRESIDENT SUKARNO, TO PURSUADE NORTH KOREA TO RESUME TALKS WITH THE US, JAPAN, CHINA, SOUTH KOREA AND RUSSIA AIMED AT DISMANTLING ITS NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAMME.
