North Korea resume ties after quarter century rupture

Bangkok, Apr 26 (UNI) Myanmar and North Korea today restored diplomatic ties ruptured almost 24 years ago, news reports from Yangon said.

Myanmar, then known as Burma, had broken off ties with Pyongyang, accusing it of masterminding a 1983 terror attack which killed 21 members of a visiting South Korean delegation in Rangoon (present day Yangon).

North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Yong Il arrived in Yangon yesterday for talks today with his Myanmarese counterpart Kyaw Thu on normalising relations.

They are formalising an agreement to restore diplomatic relations, according to reports from Yangon.

The Myanmarese foreign minister was quoted as saying that the agreement was to be sent to the United Nations according to international diplomatic procedure.

Observers have attributed the surprise move to the international political isolation of both countries whose authoritarian leaders are under pressure from Western capitals.

UNI