DATE=6/14/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=KOREA SUMMIT / SYMBOLISM
NUMBER=5-46497
BYLINE=ALISHA RYU
DATELINE=HONG KONG
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: South Koreans are euphoric over the unexpected
warmth shown by North Korea's reclusive leader, Kim
Jong-il, during Tuesday's historic first meeting with
South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. As Alisha Ryu
reports from VOA's Asia News Center in Hong Kong, the
summit has South Korea hopeful there may be a
continuing thaw in relations, which have been marked
by more than five decades of hostilities.
TEXT: Millions of South Koreans cheered Tuesday when
television footage showed a smiling President Kim Dae-
jung arriving in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.
It was the first time that a democratic leader from
the South had set foot in Communist North Korea in 55
years. For many South Koreans, the moment packed
enough emotion for them to openly weep with joy.
But when South Koreans saw North Korean leader Kim
Jong-il personally greet President Kim on the tarmac
and exchange a double handed handshake, journalists on
the scene say most people were simply speechless. Time
Magazine's Seoul Correspondent Stella Kim:
/// FIRST KIM ACT ///
It was a moment of disbelief. The animosities that
have been building for the past half century cannot
just dissolve by some announcement of a summit. But
when they actually saw two people shaking hands, and
by the way, you could actually feel the warmth coming
out of Kim Jong-il, and he was the first one to reach
out, both arms, to greet President Kim, that was a
very moving moment.
/// END ACT ///
Ms. Kim says South Koreans interpreted the gesture as
a genuine sign of willingness to cooperate with South
Korea, something North Korea had refused to do in the
past.
Political science professor Lee Doo-won at Yonsei
University in Seoul agrees the handshake symbolized
the beginning of a new relationship between the two
countries, which have remained technically at war
since the Korean War ended in an armed truce in 1953.
/// FIRST LEE ACT ///
We use double-handed handshake whenever we meet a
very, very friendly friend or someone respectful and
definitely, that showed the willingness of Chairman
Kim Jong-il to cooperate with President Kim Dae-jung
at the summit. And based on this optimism, I believe
we will be able to produce some positive, visible
results.
/// END ACT ///
Many in South Korea hope the unprecedented summit
between the two leaders will lead to agreements that
will open the heavily-defended border to
transportation and trade, allow separated families to
reunite, and promote national reconciliation.
Based on Kim Jong-il's warm attitude toward the South
Korean president, Professor Lee says the North Korean
leader could be signaling that anything is now
possible.
/// SECOND LEE ACT ///
Chairman Kim has expressed a lot of his emotions and
intentions very frankly and in a very straight-forward
manner in front of President Kim Dae-jung. You have
to bear in mind that this is not just normal
negotiations. This is a summit. This time, it is the
leaders who are at the negotiation table. So, he
himself can make any decision right on the spot.
/// END ACT ///
But journalist Stella Kim says many people remain
skeptical about North Korea's long-term intentions
because so little is known about the country and its
enigmatic leader. She cautions against reading too
much into what is said and done during the three-day
summit.
/// SECOND KIM ACT ///
What we may anticipate is peaceful coexistence,
formally and publicly declared, i.e., we probably will
have to accept that North Korea will remain a
communist country for the time being.
/// END ACT ///
Even President Kim Dae-jung has played down
expectations for the summit. Before leaving for
Pyongyang Tuesday, he said he did not expect to return
with more than token concessions from the North,
including a promise by Kim Jon-il to make a reciprocal
visit to South Korea's capital, Seoul.
But analysts say given Kim Jong-il's aversion to
public events and outings, if such a visit were
promised it would be a huge symbol of further warming
between the two Cold War enemies. (Signed)
NEB/HK/AR/JO/KBK
14-Jun-2000 07:18 AM LOC (14-Jun-2000 1118 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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