SKorea's Roh says no doubts over NKorea nuclear pact

SEOUL, Dec 8, 2007 (AFP)

South Korean president Roh Moo-Hyun said Saturday he is convinced North Korea intends to give up its nuclear weapons, calling the communist country's leader Kim Jong-Il a "flexible negotiator."

In an interview with CNN, Roh also labelled the North Korean leader a likeable good listener who is "at times humorous" in his exchanges.

"I have believed for a long time that North Korea is willing to give up nuclear weapons, and that belief has not changed," Roh said

"The base (for talks) is trust in the other side," he said.

Roh met Kim in October in Pyongyang for the second ever summit between leaders of the two Koreas.

"If circumstances are right, there is no reason for the North to possess nuclear weapons," he said. "I have no doubt about this assertion by the North."

He said he had found a flexible negotiating partner in the North's all-powerful leader, a rare public evaluation of a man often labelled by outside critics a reclusive and mysterious dictator.

"Kim is someone who knows how to maintain a pleasant atmosphere and is considerate of others in conversation," Roh said.

"Honestly, he is not someone that is aggressive or makes people uncomfortable. He is considerate, listens, and at times is humorous. And while he is talking with you, he makes you feel safe and makes you like him," he said.

The impoverished communist state shocked the world with its first nuclear test in October 2006.

But it agreed this year to disable its plutonium-producing plants and declare all nuclear programmes and facilities by year-end in return for major energy aid.

The US-supervised disablement is well under way, but both South Korean and US officials say the nuclear declaration may not be made until next year.