Posted on 04/26/2011 7:33:30 AM PDT by IbJensen
Beijing (AP) - Former President Jimmy Carter said Monday that he hopes to meet with North Korea's reclusive leader during a visit aimed at assessing severe food shortages and discussing the revival of nuclear disarmament talks.
Carter is making the three-day visit to North Korea this week accompanied by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Brundtland and former Irish President Mary Robinson. The four are members of a group of retired world leaders called the Elders founded by former South African President Nelson Mandela.
Carter said the group "would like very much" to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, as well as his son and heir-apparent Kim Jong Un, but was unsure whether that would happen.
"We have no indication that we will do so, but it would be a pleasure if we could," he said at a news conference in Beijing prior to his departure for Pyongyang on Tuesday.
The former president said he was not "prejudging in advance" his discussions on restarting talks on North Korea's nuclear programs, which have been stalled for the past two years.
Pyongyang is believed to be holding out for diplomatic concessions from Washington before committing to returning to the six-nation talks, under which it has pledged to dismantle its programs in return for food and fuel aid.
Carter did not respond when asked if he was carrying a message from the U.S. administration and made no mention of Korean-American Jun Young Su, who is being held in North Korea, reportedly on charges of carrying out missionary activity.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted Carter as saying in an interview that he wasn't carrying any messages and didn't intend to raise Jun's case. The U.S. State Department said last month that Carter would not be carrying any official messages.
Carter is well-regarded in North Korea and met in 1994 with the North's then-leader Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il's father, and brokered a U.S.-North Korea nuclear deal.
He last visited North Korea in August to secure the release of imprisoned American Aijalon Gomes, who had been sentenced to eight years of hard labor for crossing into the North from China. Carter did not meet Kim then because the leader was on a rare visit to China, his isolated, impoverished nation's biggest ally and aid provider.
Carter's trip comes amid efforts on several fronts to reinvigorate the nuclear negotiations. China's top nuclear envoy was due to travel to Seoul on Tuesday for talks, while a South Korean delegation was to meet with U.S. diplomats in Washington.
The peanut farmer that now holds the honored position as the second worst President this nation has ever had (#1 is Obama, of course). Carter should go back to raising peanuts that is about the only thing he can't screw up.
The Pathetic President.
And it would be our pleasure if the former president would make his new home in North Korea. I hope Jimmy stays there and we never hear from him again.
What drives this idiot, not just peanuts?! Flag 1 person liked this. Like ReplyReply Frankie 14 hours ago
the pleasure of jimmy carter is knowing he's very very old and will be gone soon.
Why we allow this old buffoon to go around the world making us a laughingstock, is beyond me. He should have his passport revoked. Does he have any "official" status? Maybe the last four U.S. Administrations (Bush,Clinton, Bush, Obama) have commissioned Carter to be our roving ambassador to communist nations, muslim strongholds, and other wastelands. That's about as intelligent as our "leadership" is.
Evil enjoys evil.
I too hope for a certain pleasure relating to Jimmy Carter, but I won't say what that pleasure involves.
The NK tyrants will get a good laugh out of this and demand more concessions from the free world. The poor NK people will remain hungry
A lot of jet fuel will be wasted flying this band of fools around. I wonder who is paying for it!
Jimmah ain’t right in the head.
Please North Korea, keep him. We’ll even let you keep the Pueblo if you take Jimmy off of our hands.
Funny thing, this aging process.
Some folks get wiser and use their advanced years to make the world a better place.
Others don’t.
No, Carter is 3rd worst. Obama is so bad, he must take 1st and 2nd place just for emphasis.
There’s no fool like an old fool.
*************
Jimmah remains the bane of our existence---
In the first place...
We natives rue the day he was elected gub'ner...
And we DID NOT intentionally foist this upon the nation---
(We blame the lefty-globalist cabal for those obvious puppet strings)
And like the rest of the FReeper nation...
We join in the chorus:
Jimmah..
Go home to Plains, son....
Sit on the porch, wave at the tourist(s) du jour...
Have some more lemonade!
....BUT SHUT YOUR PIE-HOLE!!!
**********
Look at the bright side...
Dear Leader may decide he needs another hostage....
....or a bowling buddy...
Y'all have a nice day....
All y'all...
In terms of worst presidents ever, I believe that he and Nixon have to be tied together as 2 and 2A (formerly 1 and 1A). Let’s face it, if Tricky Dick hadn’t been such a paranoid idiot, we might never have had to endure Mr. Peanut’s Reign of Error.
Perhaps the best outcome would be for the Norks to take Jimmuh hostage, and demand endless free food for his return; and then Obama, as usual, doesn’t do anything.
At least we know that Obama would never visit North Korea, because he would throw out his back bowing to them.
Great! Carter and the N. Korean Leader can put their heads together and make one great big a$$!
With a sincere apology to the writer of “Fiddler on the Roof”
May the LORD bless and keep James E Carter.....FAR AWAY FROM US...AS FAR AS POSSIBLE.
Amen
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