N. Korea may join IMF, World Bank

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said July 30 in an interview with Japan`s Nihon Keizei Shinbum that the United States was willing to allow North Korea`s membership in international financial organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Her remarks implied that Washington, which earlier had said that it was too early to talk about North Korea`s membership in global financial bodies, had changed its position following the foreign ministers` meeting between North Korea and the United States.

However, Albright said that the solution of the North Korean nuclear and missile issues was the precondition for Pyongyang¡¯s membership in international organizations, saying that the United States was concerned about the question of North Korean nuclear missiles and that it was necessary to observe whether they were a potential threat.

Touching on North Korean-U.S. relations, Albright said that the United States would build bilateral relations on a gradual basis.

In a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Kono Yohei, she reconfirmed that South Korea, Japan and the United States pose the same position in their negotiations with North Korea on this question.