Albright starts historic N Korea trip

The US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, has arrived in North Korea where she will hold an historic meeting with President Kim Jong-il. It is the first time a member of the US cabinet has visited the communist state and it will be first time President Kim has met an American. The Secretary of State will have two days of talks in Pyongyang, hoping to arrange a visit by President Bill Clinton before he leaves office in January. Mrs Albright is expected to press Kim Jong-II over North Korea's missile and nuclear programmes - both issues of major international concern. She is to brief the South Korean and Japanese foreign ministers on a visit to Seoul on Wednesday. North Korea, plunged into a severe economic crisis and food shortages, has taken dramatic steps toward ending five decades of self-imposed isolation since an historic summit in June between Kim Jong-Il and President Kim Dae-Jung of South Korea.