BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: In a rare bilateral meeting with North Korea , foreign minister Salman Khurshid on Monday took up India’s concerns over proliferation with his counterpart Pak Ui-Chun here exhorting DPRK to give up its contentious nuclear-weapon programme . While Khurshid did not name Pakistan, he told Pak Ui-Chun that India has serious concerns over proliferation that North Korea must "factor in’’ for an honest relationship with New Delhi.

The two nations have not seen a bilateral visit of any significance for many years now and it was Pyongyang that sought a bilateral meeting with India on the sidelines of the 46th ASEAN foreign ministers’ summit here. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi , who met the North Korean foreign minister separately, also sought early resumption of the six-party dialogue that has remained stalled since 2008, seeking denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

According to Khurshid, North Korea conveyed to India that it has no intention of indulging in any proliferation. "They said what they were doing was meant to only protect themselves but I made it clear to them that in a changed world, we have to evolve and take a position which is consistent with the global point of view,’’ said Khurshid after the meeting.

"It is important not to get isolated and remain engaged with the world. Protection comes from that. But the fact that they want to reach out to us gives us a chance to express our concerns which they must factor in if they want to have an honest relationship with us,’’ he added.

While no high-level visit is planned between the two countries, India is likely to send a three-member parliamentary delegation to Pyongyang later this year on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between them.

Government sources said that Khurshid gave vent to India’s concerns over proliferation in the wake of another nuclear test carried out by Pyongyang earlier this year. Indian officials believe that North Korea may have for the first time used enriched uranium for carrying out the test and that in such a case, its proliferation linkages with Pakistan would be established. In an official reaction, New Delhi accused North Korea of violating international commitments asking Pyongyang to ``refrain from such actions which adversely impact on peace and stability in the region”.

Besides North Korea, Khurshid also had bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Cambodia, Mongolia, Canada and Bangladesh. The meeting with Wang Yi couldn’t take place on Monday because of scheduling issues, but sources said it will happen on Tuesday.

'Border talks with China on’

Foreign minister Salman Khurshid on Monday said the proposed Border Defence Cooperation Agreement with China is still being looked at and no decision will be arrived at without taking all ``stakeholders’’ on board. He described the 16th round of talks between the special representatives as good and useful. ``BDCA is a new step which they have suggested. These documents take a lot of time and we don’t want any regrets. They had given us a draft and the NSA may have given them an update but that is where it is,’’ he said.