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Landmark inter-Korean summit begins with unification pledgeKim Dae-jung: 'I love you all'
PYONGYANG, North Korea (CNN) -- A red-carpet reception, a historic two-fisted handshake and shared hopes for peace signaled the start of a new era for the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday as the leaders of North and South Korea came face to face for the first time. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il greeted his South Korean counterpart, Kim Dae-jung, on his arrival at the airport -- a surprise appearance by the reclusive communist leader. Even members of Kim Dae-jung's entourage weren't certain if Kim Jong Il would greet his guest in person.
During a 40-minute limousine ride into the capital, the two leaders chatted and "sometimes held hands in a show of personal respect," according to Park Joon-young, the South Korean presidential spokesman. The landmark first official meeting lasted for about half an hour as the two leaders set about to thaw relations that have been cold since open hostilities -- the Korean War -- broke out on the peninsula 50 years ago this month. "The world is closely watching us," Kim Jong Il said. "Why President Kim came to North Korea and why I accepted is a question mark. We have to give the answer to this question during the two nights and three days." "June 13 will be a day recorded in history," he added. "Let's get on and make that history," replied Kim Dae-jung. Dream becomes a realityWhen Kim Dae-jung stepped off his plane from Seoul, he was the first South Korean leader to do so. "It was not just once or twice that I plunged into deep despair thinking that I would never be able to step on the soil of the North in my lifetime," the South Korean said in a statement read in Pyongyang by his spokesman. Kim Dae-jung vowed to lead the effort for peace, cooperation and reunification on the Korean Peninsula. The split between the two countries is one of the last remnants of the Cold War. He told North Koreans that he would search with their leader for ways for all Koreans to live peacefully and to lead better lives. "This is just the beginning. Since the inter-Korean summit, which was just a dream, is now a reality, we will solve problems one at a time," Kim Dae-jung said. The two leaders are expected to discuss economic cooperation, family reunions and the possibility of finally ending the war that merely moved off the battlefield in 1953. Handshake a sign of 'mutual recognition'Kim's words amplified the hopes of many that the summit could bring peace to the peninsula for the first time since an armed truce ended the open fighting of the Korean War in 1953. No formal peace treaty was ever signed between the two countries. But it was the two-handed handshake offered by Kim Jong Il -- a sign of friendship and respect in Korea -- that set an encouraging tone for the three-day summit. Korean analyst Stephen Linton told CNN that the double-handed handshake was comparable to a hug in the West. He said nobody could have imagined Kim Jong Il doing that in the recent past. "What this means is mutual recognition," CNN correspondent Mike Chinoy said. "That is something neither side has been willing to do (in the past)." Kim Dae-jung offered a symbolic gesture of his own, allowing North Korea, a longtime enemy, to provide his security during the summit. The Koreas have been divided in a Cold War standoff for decades. The 1950-53 Korean War, in which U.S.-led forces fought Chinese- and Soviet-backed North Korean troops, ended in an armed truce and unwavering political tension. The countries remain technically at war, and thousands of troops guard each side of the border. Reunification and reunion of family members separated during the war were among the issues expected to be discussed during the three-day, historic summit. The two countries had agreed to a summit in 1994. But then North Korean leader Kim Il Sung died at age 82 only weeks before he was to meet with South Korean counterpart, Kim Young-sam. The South wants the North to agree to family reunions, a summit sequel in Seoul and other conciliatory gestures in exchange for resources to rebuild the communist nation's dilapidated economy. North Korea, which suffered a deadly famine in the late 1990s, relies on food aid from its traditional foes, South Korea, Japan and the United States. "Reuniting families is the most important issue. We don't have much time left," said 72-year-old Lee Won-kun from his home in Seoul, while watching the summit on South Korean television. "It has to happen quickly. Everybody's getting older. All the people from our Korean War generation are dying," Lee said. "We shouldn't be saying 'It may happen.' We should be saying, 'It should happen.'" Lee grew up outside Pyongyang, about 2 kilometers (2.4 miles) from the home of Kim Jong Il's father, Kim Il Sung, who founded North Korea. Lee fled to the mountains to escape the draft when the war broke out. Kim Dae-jung: 'We are one people'"As president of the South, I came to Pyongyang to lead the effort for peace, cooperation and unification in accordance with the will of your compatriots in the South," Kim Dae- jung said in the statement. He said, however, that it would not be possible to resolve immediately the bitterness that had accumulated over the decades. He said he hoped all Koreans wanted reconciliation and peaceful unification of the Koreas. "We will do out utmost to resolve the problems that can be solved one at a time," he said. "We will surely solve those issues which we do not solve this time by meeting for a second and third time. "Compatriots in the North, We are one people. We share the same fate. Let us hold hands firmly. I love you all," he said to conclude the statement. Several other touchy issues -- including North Korea's missile and nuclear programs and the U.S. military presence in South Korea -- were expected to be discussed during the summit. Kim Dae-jung was greeted by hundreds of cheering onlookers as he exited his plane, and thousands of cheering spectators lined the route to the guesthouse. Two girls presented bouquets to the president and his wife. Women wore traditional North Korean costumes, and a band played martial music. Chinoy said Kim Jong Il is facing a dilemma -- he has to build up his nation's collapsed economy, but fears North Korea's power structure could crumble if the nation is opened too fast to the outside. "He's got a very difficult balancing act," Chinoy said, noting Kim Jong Il wants to prevent what he considers to be the "ideological contamination" of North Korea that could follow the nation's opening to the world. North Korea recently forged diplomatic relations with Italy and Australia, and has been talking with U.S. and Japanese officials about forming diplomatic links with those nations. North seeks assistanceThe fortunes of the Koreas -- one communist and one pro- Western -- have changed as the years have passed. Previously disdainful of its southern neighbor, an impoverished North Korea now hopes for food and other aid from prosperous South Korea. James Laney, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea, said North Korea remains in a precarious situation. The nation suffered a drought earlier this year and a series of natural disasters since the 1980s, he said, and its economy has virtually collapsed. "If the North is going to maintain its identity and the government its power, they've got to reach out and get help to shore (up the economy)," Laney told CNN. "The North needs what the South has ... Kim Jong Il is coming to the table finally because he realizes that that's the only game in town," Laney added. The summit was being held in the same mysterious style Pyongyang has often employed over the years: No schedule was revealed ahead of the talks. Pyongyang is said to be nervous about any negative media coverage. The regime's aversion to publicity was seen in last month's trip by Kim Jong Il to Beijing, which wasn't announced by either government until he had returned to North Korea. Seoul Bureau Chief Sohn Jie-Ae, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
RELATED STORIES: South Korea's Kim Dae-jung arrives in Pyongyang for historic north-south summit RELATED SITES: North Korea: Politics and Government | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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CNN's Sohn Jie-ae has a video profile of South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. (June 13)
South Koreans are happy about the summit, as CNN's Sohn Jie-ae shows. (June 13)
CNN's Mike Chinoy shows the events surrounding the first day of the summit. (June 13)
CNN's Mike Chinoy looks at the background of North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il. (June 12)
