DATE=8/14/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=US / NORTH KOREA - L
NUMBER=2-265428
BYLINE=AMY BICKERS
DATELINE=SEOUL
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Il says his nation
would consider establishing diplomatic ties with the
United States if Washington removed it from a list of
states which sponsor terrorism. But as VOA's Amy
Bickers reports from Seoul, Mr. Kim did not offer any
new concessions that could lead to an agreement with
the United States.
TEXT: Kim Jong Il's latest offer for came during a
meeting with South Korean media representatives in
Pyongyang (Saturday). He says he wants Washington to
stop branding his nation as a sponsor of terrorism.
The United States has placed North Korea on a list of
seven countries, which it brands as state sponsors of
terrorism. The list includes Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya,
Sudan and Syria and excludes them from international
loans and credits.
U-S and North Korean officials ended two days of talks
last week in Pyongyang on what steps North Korea would
need to take to be removed from the list. While
Washington says the talks were productive, Pyongyang
did not agree to any measures and more meetings are
planned. The main US demands include expelling
Japanese Red Army hijackers and making a public
denunciation of terrorism. But Mr. Kim's comments to
South Korean media did not appear to contain any new
initiatives that would lead to a deal with the United
States.
Kim Jong Il also repeated his offer to end its missile
program in exchange for financial compensation -
something the United States has ruled out.
While Kim Jong Il's comments contained nothing new in
substance, the fact that he made them in a forum to
South Korean media is significant. The leader of long-
reclusive communist North Korea has been engaged in an
unprecedented series of international meetings and
public statements. The most significant of which was
June's first-ever summit with South Korea's president.
The meeting produced a deal to work toward
reunification of the Korean peninsula.(SIGNED)
NEB/HK/AB/JO
14-Aug-2000 05:11 AM LOC (14-Aug-2000 0911 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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