Chinese Mandarin - Two Koreas to hold summit this month

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WORLD / Asia-Pacific

Two Koreas to hold summit this month

(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-08-08 08:35

South Korean President Kim Dae-jung links hands with North Korean leader
Kim Jong-il (R)during a?luncheon at Baekhwawon State Guest House in
Pyongyang in this June 15, 2000 file photo. [Reuters]

Seoul - North and South Korea announced Wednesday that their leaders will
hold their second-ever summit this month, reprising the historic 2000
meeting that launched unprecedented reconciliation between the two
longtime foes.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun
will meet Aug. 28-30 in Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, South Korean
presidential security adviser Baek Jong-chun told reporters.

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At the only other such North-South summit, Kim met then-South Korean
President Kim Dae-jung in June 2000, also in Pyongyang.

North Korea also released a statement confirming an agreement on the
summit signed Sunday between the heads of the two countries' intelligence
agencies.

"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," the statement said, according to the North's official Korean
Central News Agency.

"The second inter-Korean summit will contribute to substantially opening
the era of peace and prosperity between the two Koreas," South Korea's
presidential office said in a statement.

In Beijing, China hopes the forthcoming second summit would lead to
"positive results," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao
Wednesday.

"China has always been supporting whatever benefits peace and stability
of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia," said Liu.

As a neighbor of the Korean Peninsula, China has been supportive of the
south and north for the improvement of relationship through dialogue, he
said. And it also conforms to the fundamental interest of the 70 millions
people of the peninsula, and conduces to regional peace and stability.

And in Washington, the State Department hailed the announcement in a
statement.

"We have long welcomed and supported North-South dialogue and hope this
meeting will help promote peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and
fulfilling the goals of the six-party talks," it said, according to an
official who read the response over the telephone. The official refused
to allow their name to be used.

The two Koreas remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War
ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty, but the 2000 meeting led them
to embark on economic cooperation projects and reunions of families split
by their shared border -- the world's most heavily fortified.

Kim Dae-jung won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to engage North
Korea through his so-called sunshine policy.

At the 2000 summit, Kim Jong Il warmly greeted his South Korean
counterpart on the tarmac immediately upon landing, showing a human side
of the North Korean leader known for his trademark jumpsuit and
sunglasses.

Kim Jong Il promised at that time to make a return visit to South Korea
for a summit, but it appeared security concerns made that impossible for
this month's meeting. Kim rarely travels abroad, and leaves the country
solely via train.

The summit comes at a time of optimism on the peninsula as North Korea
has made strides in abandoning its nuclear weapons program, including
shutting down its sole operating nuclear reactor last month in exchange
for oil aid. The United States and other regional powers are negotiating
with North Korea on a timeline for the nation to declare all its nuclear
programs and disable the facilities.

Roh has repeatedly said that he would meet with Kim at any time and any
place and there has been persistent talk this year that a North-South
summit was possible. The conservative opposition blasted such potential
plans, however, calling them an election ploy ahead of South Korea's
December presidential vote.

Roh is set to leave office in February and has seen his popularity
plummet amid perceptions he has bungled handling of the economy and
security policies.

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