U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing
THURSDAY, SEPEMBER 2, 1999
Briefer: Philip T. Reeker
| NORTH KOREA | |
| 6-7, 8 | US hopes contacts through general officer talks, as well as ROK-DPRK contacts, will result in amicable solution. Northern Limit Line was raised in Panmunjom talks yesterday. Sea demarcation dates from 1953, when area was a war zone. US-DPRK bilateral talks take place in Berlin next week. |
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
DPB #116
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1999, 1:15 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
...............
QUESTION: North Korea.: North Korea has today announced that they will disregard the Northern Limit Line. Do you have any comment about that?
MR. REEKER: We continue to hope that contacts through the general officers talks and between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will result in an amicable solution that will avoid future incidents. I don't have any specific comment on the statement. We have stated the US position in the past, and let me take this opportunity to repeat it here: The Northern Limit Line was, and still is, demarcated by the UN Command to serve as a practical way to separate forces. It's been an effective means of preventing military tension between North and South Korean military forces for 46 years. We urge the DPRK to recognize the practicality of the Northern Limit Line by keeping its craft north of the line. Obviously, in 1953, the area was a war zone, and territorial jurisdictions there remain in dispute today.
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QUESTION: I just wanted to know if you thought the Northern Limit Line issue would be brought up at the bilaterals in Berlin.
MR. REEKER: We are having those bilaterals with Ambassador Kartman and North Korean representatives in Berlin beginning next week. I think the 7th through the 11th is the schedule. Let me just - those talks, the Northern Line issue came up in the context of the Panmunjom talks, the general officer talks, which took place yesterday for the sixth time since the naval clash, and I think that is the context in which that issue is raised.
So I'd refer you to the UN Command in Seoul for details on that and we will obviously have updates on our bilateral talks with Ambassador Kartman and the North Koreans in Berlin next week.
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(The briefing concluded at 1:40 P.M.)
[end of document]
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