asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent meeting of the Minister of State with the hon. Members for Liverpool, Scotland Exchange, West Stirlingshire (Mr. Canavan), Coventry, South-East (Mr. Wilson) and Hackney, North and Stoke Newington (Mr. Roberts) concerning recognition of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The four hon. Members called on my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister of State at their request. During the meeting, Lord Belstead stated that our policy on the recognition of North Korea remained unchanged. That policy is that recognition is inappropriate while the exceptional circumstances in the Korean peninsula persist.