N. Korea accepts France's offer to build cultural office

SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korea accepted France's offer to set up a permanent cultural office in Pyongyang as a first step toward establishing diplomatic relations, Pyongyang's media said Thursday.

France made the proposal after Jack Lang, special envoy of French President
Nicholas Sarkozy, visited North Korea last month to explore ways of normalizing
their relations.
Instead of full diplomatic ties, Lang said in a parliamentary hearing in Paris on
Wednesday that France decided to offer to build a permanent office for
humanitarian and cultural cooperation in North Korea.
"The French side informed the DPRK that it decided to establish the French
Cooperation and Cultural Action Office in Pyongyang as a step of the first phase
towards normalizing the relations between the two countries according to the
results of his visit to the DPRK," the North's Korean Central News Agency said.
DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea.
North Korea "consented" to the opening of the office, pushing forward its "stand
to boost relations with France," the report said.
France is the only member of the European Union, apart from Latvia, that has yet
to build diplomatic ties with North Korea. France has cited concerns over the
North's human rights record and its nuclear and missile programs.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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