North Korea says it attaches little significance to a planned visit to the Stalinist state by a U.S. Congressional delegation.
The six-member delegation leaves for North Korea Sunday. Congressman Curt Weldon, (a Republican from Pennsylvania) who is leading the group, says the American lawmakers are not trying to engage in talks on North Korea's nuclear-weapons program, but instead will simply -- in the congressman's words -- "show the face of America."
A North Korean state-run Internet website (Uriminzokkiri) said any talks with the delegation are meaningless unless the United States drops what Pyongyang calls a "hostile policy" toward the Stalinist state.
After stopping in North Korea, the congressional delegation will visit South Korea, China, Japan and Russia -- all participants in previous negotiations about North Korea's nuclear program.