War Anniversary | Leader Profiles | Northern View | Southern View | About the War About Korea | Story Archive | Related Sites | Message Board | Latest News

Historic summit of Koreas delayed by 24 hours

June 11, 2000
Web posted at: 8:39 p.m. HKT (1239 GMT)

In this story: Reunion of separated families key item on agenda Peninsula divided since 1945 RELATED STORIES, SITES

SEOUL -- North Korea called a one-day delay in its historic summit with South Korea to better prepare for a planned three days of meetings, South Korea's presidential Blue House said on Sunday.

South Korean President Kim Dae-jung will now fly to Pyongyang on Tuesday to meet his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Il for the first-ever summit between leaders of the rival Koreas.

• Overview   • War Anniversary   • Leader Profiles   • Northern View   • Southern View   • Kwangju at 20   • Moscow Connection   • About the War   • About Korea   • Story Archive   • Video Archive   • Related Sites   • Message Board   • Latest News   RESOURCES Asiaweek - From Our Correspondent: A Gift from Korea CNN Specials - Korea at 50     MESSAGE BOARD North and South Korea

North Korea requested the delay in a telephone call late Saturday, citing "unavoidable technical reasons," said Park June-young, chief spokesman for the South Korean president.

"We have waited for the summit for 55 years, why can't we wait one more day?" Park quoted Kim Dae-jung as saying.

Korea was divided into communist North and capitalist South after World War II.

The South Korean president had planned to fly Monday to Pyongyang for a summit that offers hopes for gradual reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula after decades of bitter conflict.

The two are expected to discuss the dispatch of economic aid from the rich South to the impoverished North, as well as the reunion of separated families.

Among the most contentious issues that might be raised are the U.S. military presence in South Korea, and North Korea's missile and nuclear programs.

North Korea's agreement to host a summit is a notable compromise because it previously disdained most attempts at dialogue by Seoul, a government it considered illegitimate.

The two countries agreed to a summit in 1994. But North Korean leader Kim Il Sung died at age 82 only weeks before he was to meet his South Korean counterpart, Kim Young-sam.

His son and successor, Kim Jong Il, consolidated his power in the years that followed.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Korean summit delayed by one day, says South Korea
June 10, 2000
U.S., North Korea to resume talks about returning soldiers' remains
May 29, 2000
Australia, North Korea resume ties after 25 years
May 8, 2000
Shattered families will be a focus of meeting between two Koreas
April 22, 2000
U.S. welcomes word of North-South Korean summit

North Korea: Politics and Government
North Korea
Korea Government Homepage
Office of the President, Republic of Korea
Office of the Prime Minister
Korean Information Service
  •  South-North Korean Summit
UniKorea

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.