SEOUL - North Korea
confirmed on Wednesday that the leaders of the two
Koreas will hold summit talks in Pyongyang this
month to promote reconciliation on the divided
Korean Peninsula.
The North's official
Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) confirmed the
announcement by the South Korean presidential
office Cheong Wa Dae (the Blue House) that
President Roh Moo-hyun will travel to Pyongyang to
meet his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-il from
August 28-30.
"The meeting between the top
leaders of the North and the South
will
be of weighty significance in opening a new phase
of peace on the Korean Peninsula, co-prosperity of
the nation, and national reunification by
expanding and developing the inter-Korean
relations on to a higher stage in accordance with
the historic June 15 North-South Joint Declaration
and in the spirit of 'By our nation itself'," the
KCNA said in a report monitored in Seoul.
The first inter-Korean summit in 2000
between then South Korean president Kim Dae-jung
and Kim Jong-il led to reduced military tension
and an unprecedented range of economic, social and
cultural cooperation.
South Korea's top
business organization hailed Wednesday's
announcement. "Businesses hope the summit becomes
a touchstone for eventual reunification of the
Korean Peninsula," the Federation of Korean
Industries said in a statement.
The summit
is expected to allay geopolitical concerns on the
Korean Peninsula and positively affect the
recovery of South Korean economy, the federation
said.
South and North Korea are still
technically in a state of war because the 1950-53
Korean War ended in an armistice instead of a
peace treaty.
However, the two sides have
made great strides in reconciliation projects and
cross-border economic exchanges since the 2000
summit.
South Korean citizens and civic
groups gave various reactions on Wednesday to the
news of the summit.
"We welcome the
announcement. The summit is necessary to ease the
continuing nuclear tension on the Korean
Peninsula," said Park Byung-ok, secretary general
at the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, a
major civic group in Seoul.
"As the summit
is being held before the presidential election, it
might cause an unnecessary dispute over whether or
not the summit has a political purpose," Park
said. "The summit should be fruitful in order to
dispel all the doubts." (See Roh gropes for a graceful
exit, Asia Times Online, July 6.)
"I did not expect it to come, but I am
glad to hear the news," said Park Jung-eun of the
People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy,
another leading Seoul-based civic organization.
"The two Koreas must discuss establishing a peace
regime on the Korean Peninsula."
Conservative civic groups, however, were
skeptical on the motivation for the summit, given
that the South Korean presidential election is
only four months away.
"It is doubtful
what the summit can bring when a resolution of the
nuclear issue is being stalled," said Je Sung-ho,
leader of the conservative New Right Union. "The
incumbent president is only trying to to
strengthen his support base ahead of the
presidential election in December."
Shin
Ji-ho, an official at the Liberty Union, also
expressed concern that the summit was being
arranged "with haste".
"We are not against
the summit itself, as it can help improve the
relationship between the North and the South," he
said. "However, the fact that the announcement
came only 20 days before the summit makes me doubt
that proper preparations have been made."
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