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SEOUL : North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il says he is willing to hold talks with the United States and South Korea, including a summit with the South's leader, former US president Jimmy Carter said on Thursday.
Carter was speaking on his return from a visit with three other retired world leaders to Pyongyang, a mission aimed at easing high inter-Korean tensions, assessing food shortages and encouraging nuclear disarmament.
The ex-leaders said the shortages amount to a crisis, and Carter accused the US and South Korea of a "human rights violation" for, in his view, withholding food aid from the North for political reasons.
The delegation did not meet Kim during its three-day stay in the communist state, but Carter said Kim's offer of talks was made earlier Thursday in Pyongyang in a "personal message" read by an official.
Kim "sent word that he and the people of North Korea are willing to negotiate with South Korea or the United States or (the other powers involved in six-party nuclear disarmament talks) on any subject at any time without preconditions", Carter said.
"He specifically told us that he was prepared for a summit with (South Korean) President Lee Myung-Bak at any time to discuss any subject directly between the two heads of state."
Carter was accompanied by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, ex-Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland and former Irish president Mary Robinson.
Robinson described food shortages as "extremely serious" after an exceptionally cold winter, floods and an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
The failure of the United States and South Korea to provide the food aid they previously supplied had aggravated the situation, she said.
The Elders Group urged South Korea, the European Union and the United States to "realise that there is a very serious crisis," Robinson said.
Bruntland, a former World Health Organisation chief, said one-third of North Korea's children are growing up stunted because of their poor diet.
Carter said one of the most important human rights was access to food.
"For America and South Korea deliberately to withhold food aid to North Korea because of unrelated political issues is really a human rights violation," he said.
He added that Pyongyang was willing to allow monitoring of aid, after accusations that shipments in the past had been diverted to North Korea's vast army.
Cross-border relations have been icy since the South accused the North of sinking the Cheonan warship in March 2010 with the loss of 46 lives.
The North denies involvement but shelled a South Korean border island last November, killing four people including civilians.
Before any major dialogue takes place, Seoul wants Pyongyang to take responsibility for both incidents. The North says its island attack was provoked by a Seoul military drill.
"My opinion is that the North Koreans will not admit responsibility for the sinking of the Cheonan and will not apologise," Carter said.
But top military and political figures "expressed deep regret" for the loss of life on the Cheonan and for civilians killed on the island, he said.
Six-party nuclear disarmament talks are also deadlocked. The last meeting was in December 2008 and in May 2009 Pyongyang staged its second nuclear weapons test.
In November, it disclosed a uranium enrichment plant, a potential second way to build atomic weapons.
China has been pushing to restart the six-party forum that it chairs and proposes an inter-Korean meeting on nuclear issues as a prelude.
"They (the North) are very willing to discuss nuclear issues and any other military issues directly with South Korea, including at the highest possible level," Carter said.
South Korea has repeatedly said it is willing in principle to hold a summit with North Korea, but has responded coolly to Carter's trip. President Lee will not meet the delegation, Carter confirmed.
- AFP/ms
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