DATE=6/13/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=KOREA SUMMIT OVERNIGHTER (L)
NUMBER=2-263434
BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON
DATELINE=SEOUL
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The leaders of North and South Korea have
scheduled another round of talks in Pyongyang
Wednesday as their historic summit moves into a second
day. VOA correspondent Roger Wilkison reports the
summit got off to a dramatic start when North Korea's
reclusive leader Kim Jong-il showed up at the airport
to personally greet South Korean President Kim Dae-
jung.
TEXT: Fifty years after the Korean War began, the
leaders of the two longtime enemies have now met face-
to-face for the first time. In a surprising gesture,
Kim Jong-il, who is rarely seen in public, emerged
from a crowd of well-wishers, strutted up to Kim Dae-
jung's aircraft and gave his South Korean visitor a
warm two-handed handshake. The two men trooped past a
receiving line as the crowd cheered, reviewed an honor
guard and climbed into the same limousine for the ride
downtown. Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans
waving pom-poms made of vinyl flowers lined the
streets in the biggest welcome Pyongyang has bestowed
upon a visitor in ten years.
The two men then sat down for a brief get-acquainted
session with their aides and promised to do their best
to overcome decades of hostility. The South Korean
leader was later treated to a song-and-dance
performance and was the guest of honor at a state
dinner hosted by North Korea's number two leader, Kim
Yong-nam.
Kim Dae-jung told his dinner audience that he hopes
his visit to North Korea will be a first step toward
freeing the peninsula from the threat of war. He also
said he hopes the summit can result in reunions of
families separated by the Korean War. But his main
pitch was for a sustained dialogue between the two
Koreas, saying the mountain of issues to be overcome
should be solved step by step.
///KIM DAE JUNG ACTUALITY (IN KOREAN)///
He urged that roads between north and south that have
been blocked for half a century be reopened, and that
rail and sea and air links be developed so that
Koreans -in his words-will be able to travel across
the border and work toward reconciliation, cooperation
and eventual reunification.
Lee Jung-Hoon, a professor of international relations
at Seoul's Yonsei University, says that despite the
cordial atmosphere that has prevailed so far, North
Korea has to take major steps to achieve
reconciliation with the South.
///LEE ACTUALITY///
The summit has gotten off to a very good start,
and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that some
positive results will be brought about at the
end of the day. But to say that this will
automatically lead to some sort of genuine
reconciliation (depends on) North Korea reducing
its threat factor.
///END ACTUALITY///
The first concrete result of the summit is that the
two leaders have agreed to set up a hot line between
Seoul and Pyongyang. Their discussions on Wednesday
are expected to revolve around economic cooperation,
family reunions and an eventual end to the Cold War on
the peninsula. South Korean reporters traveling with
their president say Kim Jong-il is especially eager to
discuss Kim Dae-jung's offer to help North Korea
rebuild its tattered economy. (signed)
NEB/RW/KBK
13-Jun-2000 11:31 AM LOC (13-Jun-2000 1531 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
