North Korea said Sunday it was confused by U.S. policy toward the reclusive communist state, but it did not rule out returning to six-nation negotiations over its nuclear weapons program. In the statement, a Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed a May 13 meeting between State Department representatives and North Korean officials at the United Nations and said conflicting remarks by U.S. officials only “confuse” the U.S. position at a time when the communist state is “cautiously considering” the American position.
Iran: Reformists barred in election
Iran’s hard-line constitutional watchdog has rejected all reformists who registered to run in next month’s presidential elections, approving only six out of the 1,010 hopefuls, state-run television reported Sunday. Reformers immediately threatened to boycott the election.
Kyrgyzstan: Uzbeks must go home
Hundreds of Uzbeks who fled into neighboring Kyrgyzstan to escape violence are not refugees and must return home, Kyrgyz presidential envoy Almambet Matubraimov said Sunday. International pressure has been mounting on Kyrgyzstan to grant political asylum to the Uzbeks, who fled the May 13 violence in the eastern city of Andijan.
Jordan: Middle East concessions
On Sunday, the final day of the World Economic Forum in Southern Shuneh, Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Mohammed Dahlan agreed to prevent attacks on Israel, and Israeli Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged to ease security restrictions and turn a crucial border post, the Rafah crossing, over to Egypt. Israeli officials in Jerusalem said no decision had been made on the border crossing.
From Herald news services
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