KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – North Korea's premier has given an assurance that talks on disabling his country's nuclear program are on track, the Malaysian foreign minister said Wednesday.
The assurance was given by Premier Kim Yong Il during talks with his Malaysian counterpart, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Kim arrived Tuesday in Malaysia, the second stop on a four-nation Southeast Asian tour.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told reporters that Kim briefed Abdullah on the current state of six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament.
Kim "mentioned all the progress, step by step what is happening," Syed Hamid said. "They say it is on track."
In the six-nation talks, North Korea has been promised the equivalent of 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil in exchange for disabling its nuclear reactor and other facilities.
Syed Hamid said the North Korean side indicated that the six-nation talks were "showing very positive and constructive results."
"It looks very promising … things are working out according to plan," he said.
Kim, a technocrat who became premier earlier this year, ranks below North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and the country's No. 2 official, Kim Young Nam.
Kim was scheduled to travel to Cambodia on Thursday before ending his regional tour in Laos.
