News, October 2007
|
Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses. |
South Korean president Roh Moo-Hyun, DPRK top leader Kim Jong Il hold summit talks
Chinaview.com, October 3, 2007
According to South Korean officials, Kim Jong Il said after the meeting that his discussions with Roh had been adequate and the summit would end as planned.
During their two rounds of talks during the day, Kim and Roh engaged in in-depth discussions on measures to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula and cross-border economic cooperation. "We didn't reach consensus on everything. There were parts on which our perceptions coincided, and there were other parts (on which the perceptions didn't coincide)," Roh said at a luncheon with the South Korean delegation, according to pool video relayed to Seoul. "However, what I clearly confirmed is that (Kim) has a firm will about peace and there was consensus that there should be an agreement this time that presents a future direction about peace,"Roh said.
The summit is the second of its kind since the peninsula was divided more than half a century ago. Roh's predecessor, Kim Dae-jung, traveled to the DPRK for the first inter-Korean summit in June 2000. Growing economic cooperation has been a highlight of the warming relations between the North and South since the first inter-Korean summit. Joint projects have been launched in tourism,industry and other fields, including tours of Mt. Kumgang and the industrial zone in the North's border city of Kaesong. South Korean First Lady Kwon Yang-suk visited a state museum and a medical clinic in Pyongyang on Wednesday. The South Korean president is also scheduled to visit some industrial sites Thursday before wrapping up his three-day visit. Roh traveled some 200 km overland to Pyongyang on Tuesday and was greeted by Kim Jong Il at a festive ceremony upon arrival. He met Kim Yong Nam on Tuesday afternoon.
|
Historic summit between two Koreas starts and ends with discord
Pravda, 10/03/2007 04:22
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il proposed Wednesday to extend his summit with South Korea's president for an extra day, raising hopes for progress at the first meeting between the countries in seven years. However, South Korea declined an offer by North Korean leader to extend the summit.
Earlier, Kim had proposed that his summit with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun continue beyond its scheduled Thursday end. But a pool report from South Korean reporters, which did not cite any source, said the meeting would end Thursday and that the two leaders would announce an agreement that morning.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said he sought common ground with Kim as they opened formal talks in Pyongyang for only the second-ever summit between the divided Koreas.
"We didn't reach consensus on everything. There were parts on which our perceptions coincided, and there were other parts" on which the perceptions didn't coincide, Roh said at a luncheon with the South Korean delegation after two hours of talks with Kim, according to pool video relayed to Seoul.
"However, what I clearly confirmed is that (Kim) has a firm will about peace and there was consensus that there should be an agreement this time that presents a future direction about peace," Roh said.
When the two leaders resumed meeting after lunch, Kim proposed that the talks be extended to Friday beyond their scheduled Thursday close, South Korean presidential spokesman Yoon Seong-yong told reporters in Seoul.
Kim said that Roh should delay his Wednesday schedule to Thursday, when the two leaders could share a casual lunch.
Yoon said Seoul officials were considering the offer, and that they interpreted it as Kim's desire for the talks to proceed in a "more substantial way."
Roh acknowledged that Pyongyang, one of the world's most isolated nations, was taking a cautious approach in opening up to its capitalist neighbor.
"North Korea still has some skepticism about the South, and doesn't trust it enough," Roh told the luncheon. "We have to make more efforts to further tear down this wall of distrust."
He also said the North expressed regret that the international standoff over its nuclear weapons programs had prevented greater economic cooperation with the South.
As the summit started, Roh and Kim briefly mentioned recent floods in the North that left about 600 people dead or missing and tens of thousands homeless and prompted North Korea to delay the summit from its original August date.
Fair Use Notice
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
||||||
