'Club' Woos North Korea

WASHINGTON － The International Monetary Fund plans to invite North Korea as a special guest to its annual meeting with the World Bank, to be held in Washington on Oct. 2 and 3.

An official at the financial institution said before sending invitations to the North Koreans the organization will consult with the United States on visa issuance.

Analysts said if the United States grants a North Korean delegation visas it could signal the Bush administration's willingness to improve dialogue with Pyongyang.

The White House has been pressuring Pyongyang to give up its weapons development programs and denounce support for terrorists as a condition for receiving aid from international financial organizations. Countries like North Korea that are designated by the United States as supporters of terrorism cannot join international financial institutions, over which Washington has a large influence.

The attempt last April by the Asia Development Bank to invite North Korea, a non-member, to its annual general meeting in Honolulu, fell apart because the United States disapproved.

Even if Washington consents, whether Pyongyang will accept the invitation was not clear. The IMF gained the tacit consent of President Bill Clinton's administration to invite North Korea to its annual gathering last year in Prague. But Pyongyang declined the invitation. North Korean leaders said it was extended too close to the opening of the IMF meeting, leaving them with inadequate preparation time.

If a North Korean delegation participates in this year's meeting, another channel, other than its political talks with Washington, could be open for Pyongyang to improve its relations with the international community and start its entry into the world economy, analysts said.

For the North to resuscitate its economy, the help of the international financial institutions is imperative, they added.

by Kim Jin