SEOUL - South
Korea's major business lobbying groups on Thursday
hailed the second-ever inter-Korean summit as a
"success", expressing optimism that the agreement
reached in three days of negotiations in Pyongyang
will serve as a stepping-stone for eased tensions
on the peninsula and the expansion of inter-Korean
economic cooperation.
Wrapping up the
summit, the first in seven years, South Korean
President Roh Moo-hyun and his North Korean
counterpart Kim Jong-il issued a joint declaration
detailing a broad range of
cooperation projects designed
to promote peace and prosperity on the peninsula.
The two agreed to work together in
enhancing industrial infrastructure needed for
inter-Korean economic cooperation, improving an
investment-friendly environment in the North, and
streamlining regulations in such fields as
inter-Korean civilian travel, communications and
customs clearance.
Currently, South and
North Korea cooperate in limited areas, including
tourism to Mount Kumgang and an industrial complex
in the border city of Kaesong, which were
developed out of the first summit talks.
The two Koreas agreed to accelerate the
expansion of the industrial complex where 26 South
Korean companies, mostly small and medium-sized
enterprises, are running their facilities with the
use of the North's cheap labor force.
"With the declaration, we have paved the
way for easing tensions and guaranteeing peace on
the Korean Peninsula," the Federation of Korean
Industries, the largest business lobbying group
for conglomerates, said in a statement. "We expect
the diverse experimental business projects agreed
upon to successfully boost inter-Korean
cooperation down the road."
The Korea
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) also
issued a statement, saying that the summit talks
will help the two Koreas overcome a half-century
of confrontation and serve as a "watershed" moment
for a new era of cooperation.
The KCCI
said that the environment for future inter-Korean
economic projects is expected to improve, and
investment in the North will also accelerate as
both sides agreed on cooperation in a wide range
of areas such as in infrastructure, natural
resources development and construction of a new
industrial complex.
"We hope that the two
Koreas expand concrete and tangible exchanges by
using the summit talks as a stepping-stone for a
new start, and push for follow-up measures
designed to boost South Korean companies' advance
into the North," it noted.
The Korea
International Trade Association expressed pleasure
with the outcomes of the summit talks, saying they
now have a "blueprint" that is more able to be
achieved than anything unveiled before. "Through
the declaration, leaders of the two Koreas
confirmed their strong will to continue
inter-Korean economic cooperation projects, which
are expected to serve as a starting point for
their pursuit of building a comprehensive economic
community for Korean people."
Nukes and
other business The leaders also agreed to
support international talks on North Korea's
denuclearization and to arrange a meeting of
concerned parties to establish a peace regime to
replace the fragile armistice which ended the
1950-53 Korean War.
The sides also agreed
to end military hostility and significantly expand
inter-Korean cooperation in politics and other
pending issues.
The agreement comes just
one day after Pyongyang agreed on Wednesday on
detailed measures for the declaration of its
nuclear programs and the disablement of its
nuclear facilities by the end of the year under a
denuclearization deal signed in February at
six-party talks. By signing the document
supporting the nuclear talks, the reclusive North
Korean leader for the first time personally
committed to the North's denuclearization.
The leaders of the two Koreas called for a
summit of heads of relevant countries to
officially end the Korean War. The United States
and China, which fought alongside South and North
Korea in the war respectively, are signatories to
the armistice, which left the Korean Peninsula
technically at war.
"Roh and Kim shared
the understanding about the need to put an end to
the existing armistice mechanism and build a
lasting peace mechanism. To that end, they agreed
to cooperate with each other in arranging the
meeting of the heads of state of three or four
parties directly concerned with the Korean
Peninsula and declaring the end to the Korean
War," said the joint declaration.
Roh and
Kim also agreed to hold talks at the prime
minister level in Seoul next month to discuss
detailed measures to implement the agreements of
the joint declaration.
The two Korean
leaders agreed to create a special peace zone in
the disputed inter-Korean maritime border in the
West Sea and decided to hold bilateral defense
ministerial talks in Pyongyang in November to
discuss the maritime border issue.
Moreover, the Koreas agreed to frequently
hold summit talks to discuss pending bilateral
issues.
"Two Koreas agreed not to
antagonize each other but to ease military tension
and settle disputes through dialogue and
negotiations. Both sides agreed to oppose any war
on the peninsula and faithfully honor the
commitment of non-aggression," said the document.
The two leaders agreed to make joint
efforts to ensure the smooth implementation of the
"September 19 joint statement" and the "February
13 agreement" made at the six-party talks on
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
"The two leaders reconfirmed the spirit of
the June 15 joint declaration and frankly
discussed all issues related to boosting the
inter-Korean relations and achieving peace on the
peninsula and co-prosperity," said the
declaration.
In the economic and
industrial fields, the most notable was the
agreement to establish a "special area for peace
and cooperation in West Sea" covering the Haeju
area, near the inter-Korean border, and waters in
surrounding areas, and to construct an
inter-Korean joint shipbuilding complex in Nampo,
near Pyongyang.
The special West Sea area,
for instance, will be designed to push forward
undertakings, including the creation of a joint
fishing zone, construction of a special economic
zone, economic use of Haeju Port, direct passage
of civilian vessels through the sea off Haeju, and
joint utilization of the mouth of the Han River.
South and North Korea agreed to jointly
repair and maintain the North's dilapidated
expressway linking Kaesong and Pyongyang, as well
as the North's railway between Kaesong and Sinuiju
on the North's western Chinese border.
As
part of a bilateral agreement to boost relations
in the fields of tourism, history, language,
education, culture, sport and art, the Koreas
agreed to open a direct air route between Seoul
and the North's scenic Mount Paektu on its border
with China. Pyongyang also agreed to allow South
Korea's Olympic cheering squad to use the North
Korean railways for an overland trip to Beijing
next year for the Summer Olympic Games.
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