Carter, accompanied by three other former state leaders, is on a three-day visit seen as intended to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, reported Xinhua, the official news agency of China -- a close ally of the isolated Communist country, whose relations with neighbor South Korea have deteriorated because of its recent nuclear test and other actions.
Carter, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Brundtland and former Irish President Mary Robinson were greeted at the Pyongyang airport by North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho.
It was not immediately known whether the Carter delegation, known as "The Elders," would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il but South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported the group, in an earlier statement from Beijing, had said it wanted to "see how we may be of assistance in reducing tensions and help the parties address key issues including denuclearization."
Carter, a diplomatic troubleshooter, secured the release last August of an American detained in North Korea. Another American is currently being held in that country.
Carter's trip coincides with efforts to restart the stalled talks among the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States on North Korea's denuclearization. There are also efforts to promote bilateral talks between the two Koreas but Seoul first wants the North take responsibility for the sinking of its warship last year and the shelling of a South Korean island, which together killed 50 South Koreans.
Source: iWireNews
