DATE=6/12/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=KOREA SUMMIT (L-ONITER)
NUMBER=2-263388
BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON
DATELINE=SEOUL
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: South Korean President Kim Dae-jung meets
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il Tuesday at the
beginning of an historic three-day summit in
Pyongyang. V-O-A correspondent Roger Wilkison reports
the South Korean leader has made reconciliation with
the isolated North a priority of his administration,
and he is expected to make a plea for peace between
the two longtime enemies when he arrives in Pyongyang.
TEXT: It will be the first-ever summit between the
top leaders of the two Koreas. And even though the
meeting was postponed by one day at North Korea's
request, South Korean President Kim shrugged off the
delay by saying the two sides have waited 55 years, so
one more day does not matter.
Kim Dae-jung is seeking to woo the North out of its
isolation, hoping to engage it by promising aid and
investment for its decrepit economy. His visit comes
as Kim Jong-il is showing signs of opening up North
Korea -- albeit slightly-- to the outside world.
Pyongyang has recently established diplomatic
relations with Italy, re-established ties with
Australia and is negotiating with the United States
and Japan. Kim Jong-il, who recently made a trip to
China, will host Russian President Vladimir Putin in
Pyongyang next month.
Kim Dae-jung is hoping North Korea will agree to
reunions of families separated by the Korean War,
which ended in 1953. He would also like Kim Jong-il
to visit South Korea and make gestures aimed at
reducing tension on the peninsula. But sensitive
issues may come up at the summit. One of them is
North Korea's long-standing demand for the withdrawal
of U-S troops in South Korea. Another is U-S,
Japanese and South Korean concern over North Korea's
nuclear and missile programs.
Lee Jung-min, a professor of international relations
at Seoul's Yonsei University, says there is no hope
for agreement on any of these touchy issues.
/// 1st LEE ACT ///
So you're left with, for example, economic
cooperation, separated families, and perhaps
some type of minimum contact -- people to people
contact -- between North and South Korea. Other
than those three issues, I do not foresee any
breakthrough of the sort some people are saying
that we will see at the summit.
/// END ACT ///
The South Korean government has begun to play down its
previous expectations for the summit, saying it is
only the beginning of a long road toward
reconciliation. But, at the same time, officials in
Seoul say the mere fact that the two leaders will be
photographed shaking hands and smiling will be a
significant step toward peace on the peninsula.
Some South Koreans question the sincerity of
Pyongyang's calls for reconciliation, saying all the
North Koreans want is the economic benefits they would
get from Kim Dae-jung's proposal to help the North
rebuild its dilapidated infrastructure. Yonsei
University's Professor Lee says South Korea must get
something in return for its aid.
/// 2ND LEE ACT ///
I would say go into the summit with a very open
mind but with very limited expectations. And we
also have to realize that, although the
government has said we have patience and we can
wait until the North Koreans come full circle,
there has to be some reciprocity. You cannot
have a relationship that is almost solely
unilateral. You cannot give and give and give
and receive nothing in kind.
/// END ACT ///
But South Korean officials say Kim Dae-jung believes
North Korea needs help now more than at any time in
the past. Its people are hungry after five years of
famine, and its factories are paralyzed. The
officials say the South Korean leader is confident
that sooner, rather than later, he will be able to
persuade the North to make its own efforts to improve
inter-Korean relations. (Signed)
NEB/HK/RW/JO/WTW
12-Jun-2000 07:34 AM EDT (12-Jun-2000 1134 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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