Koreas agree to discuss easing military tensions
Korea Net
May 7, 2004 18:32:49
After four days of deadlocked meetings, South and North Korea finally
agreed on Friday(May 7) to hold cross-border high-level defense talks,
which may work toward easing military tensions on the severed
peninsula.
The agreement came just minutes after the two sides wrapped up the 14th
inter-Korean ministerial meeting in Pyongyang without concrete progress
in the rapprochement talks.
"During the final meeting, our military informed us that they concur
with holding the military talks as agreed during the 13th ministerial
meeting in February," North Korean chief delegate Kwon Ho-ung
said.
The two sides held a last-minute meeting following the closing talks,
where Kwon informed the head of the South Korean delegation, Unification
Minister Jeong Se-hyun that they would decide on a date
"soon."
"The North did not state a specific timeframe but it may be possible
within this month," Jeong said.
With the closure, Seoul and Pyongyang signed a three-point joint press
statement of the 14th South-North Ministerial Meeting. It includes that
the two sides will work toward a rapprochement process in accordance to
the June 15 South-North Joint communique, agree to continue cooperation
in resolving cross-border issues through meetings, and to hold military
talks.
Both parties also agreed to resume Cabinet-level dialogue in Seoul on
Aug. 3-6.
This week's meeting, which opened four days ago, quickly plunged into a
stalemate, with North Korea demanding a halt to South Korea-U.S. joint
military exercises and South Korea calling for high-level defense talks.
Neither side has since budged an inch.
The South Korean delegation was to leave for Seoul aboard a chartered
flight later in the day.
The joint press statement also made no mention of North Korea's nuclear
arms program.
The meeting in Pyongyang comes a week before North Korea is to begin its
first working-group session with the United States, South Korea, China,
Japan and Russia on its nuclear program.
The session, to open in Beijing on May 12, is aimed at finding a solution
to the deadlock ahead of the third round of six-nation talks, scheduled
to be held before the end of June.
South Korea holds about a dozen joint military exercises with the United
States annually. About 37,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as
a deterrent against the North.
Despite the progress in inter-Korean defense talks, a joint press
statement released at the end of discussions made no mention of North
Korea's nuclear arms program.
The meeting in Pyongyang comes a week before North Korea is to begin its
first working-group session with the United States, South Korea, China,
Japan and Russia on its nuclear program.
The session, to open in Beijing on May 12, is aimed at finding a solution
to the deadlock ahead of the third round of six-nation talks, scheduled
to be held before the end of June.
The prospects of the upcoming talks was brightened by a positive remark
from North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-il during his trip to China
last month that his country will exercise "patience and
flexibility" in trying to resolve the dispute through the
talks.
The two rounds of talks previously held in Beijing failed to make a clear
breakthrough.
The dispute was triggered by Washington's announcement in 2002 that North
Korean officials admitted to having a secret nuclear arms program, a
claim denied by the North.
A key issue on the table is the North's demand for a security guarantee
and economic rewards in return for freezing its nuclear program.
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