Maurice Strong, a special envoy of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, made the remarks at Pyongyang's Sun An International Airport after winding up his five-day visit to the DPRK for discussions with officials here on humanitarian aid to the country and the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula.

"The dialogue between the US and DPRK is of course to the parties themselves to decide, but our efforts may be of some use, I expect," Strong said.

Strong said he reported to the DPRK officials the important progress in response to Annan's special appeal of international help in meeting the humanitarian needs of the DPRK, but that there is very "challenging necessity" to do more work to get more humanitarian assistance.

"Now I've received very good information from UN member nations, and it will enable us to try to continue more humanitarian assistance through the year and beyond," he said.

Strong said he received very good "information" and "guidance" from the DPRK side on the nuclear controversy, as the DPRK is an important member of the UN.

Asked about the influence of Iraqi war on the process of the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula, Strong said the war gives new impetus to the movement to settle the controversy peacefully before the horror of a war.

"The DPRK government wants to avoid a war ... and they are prepared to work necessarily to defend their interests," he said. "The message I get is that the DPRK wants very much a peaceful resolution, but at the same time, it must remain its sovereignty."

During his current visit, Strong met with Kim Yong-Nam, President of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly and Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun.

Strong paid a four-day visit to the DPRK in last January as part of the international efforts to defuse the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula.

(Xinhua News Agency March 22, 2003)