|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | Editions | myCNN | Video | Audio | Headline News Brief | Feedback | |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|  |
'Highly symbolic' handshake launches inter-Korean summitNorth Korean leader greets South counterpart on tarmac
PYONGYANG, North Korea (CNN) -- In what could become a defining moment on the Korean peninsula, the widely anticipated inter-Korean summit began Tuesday with a highly symbolic handshake. In an unprecedented gesture, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il appeared out of the crowd of hundreds at Pyongyang's airport and greeted South Korean President Kim Dae-jung on the tarmac with a handshake -- using both of his hands. Korean analyst Stephen Linton told CNN that the double-handed greeting was comparable to a hug in the West. He said nobody could have imagined the North Korean leader doing that in the recent past.
CNN's Mike Chinoy said that the handshake's symbolism could not be overstated, and that the political symbolism was an indication that Kim Jong Il was serious about easing tensions between the Koreas. "What this means is mutual recognition," Chinoy said. "That is something neither side has been willing to do (in the past)." Kim Dae-jung, accompanied by 130 officials and businessmen and 50 South Korean reporters, departed from Seoul at 9:18 a.m (0018 GMT) for the 180- kilometer (110-mile) flight to Pyongyang. Cheering crowd greets South Korean leaderKim Dae-jung applauded his host as he exited the aircraft to a red carpet welcome. He was expected to be taken to a meeting with Kim Jong Il shortly after the historic handshake. The leaders went directly into a motorcade after the handshake. The crowd cheered wildly and waved pink and red flowers as the leaders walked side-by-side past dozens of officials. Two girls presented bouquets to Kim Dae- jung and his wife. Women wore traditional North Korean costumes, and a band played martial music. Thousands of people lined the street from the airport. Chinoy said there had been a lot of anticipation leading up to the summit -- as many Koreans on both sides of the border had hoped for a dramatic, overnight change in relations. The summit is also a historic event. It is the first time the nations' leaders have met since Korea was divided by civil war nearly 50 years ago. Talks were expected to focus on security, reunion of family members divided during the 1950-53 war, and reunification. 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. Chinoy noted, however, that time may be running out for some families. Seoul Bureau Chief Sohn Jie-ae agreed, noting some family members may have already passed away. Several issues on summit agendaThe 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. However, reunification, a stated goal of both nations, is likely to be a lengthy process. The first summit between leaders of East Germany and West Germany was held in 1970, two decades before the dismantling of the Berlin Wall. There are several other touchy issues between the Koreas -- including North Korea's missile and nuclear programs and the U.S. military presence in South Korea. Chinoy said Kim Jong Il is facing a dilemma -- he has to build up his nation's poor 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 "ideological contamination" of North Korea that could result if the nation opens to the world. Before leaving Seoul, Kim Dae-jung downplayed expectations his visit would produce a miracle. However, he said he hoped there could be agreements in the future on some of the problems facing the Koreas. "I hope that it will be an opportunity to remove threats of war and terminate the Cold War on the Korean peninsula, so that all 70 million Korean people in the South and North can live in peace," Kim said. The Koreas have been locked in a Cold War standoff for more than 50 years. In the early 1950s, U.S.-led forces fought Chinese- and Soviet-backed North Korean troops in the Korean War, which ended in an armed truce and unwavering political tension. The Koreas remain technically at war. North seeks assistanceThe fortunes of the nations -- 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. Kim Dae-jung will "broaden understanding by saying everything he wants to say," Park Joon-Young, the chief presidential spokesman, said Monday. "He will agree first on the easiest and most practical issues." The summit with South Korea is being held in the same mysterious style Pyongyang has often employed over the years: No schedule was revealed ahead of the talks. Seoul officials were quick to downplay North Korea's request over the weekend that the summit be delayed by one day, until Tuesday. They said minor technical problems held up the schedule. The North's failure to clearly explain the delay prompted a flurry of speculation in South Korean media. The Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's biggest newspaper, said North Koreans might have been checking the safety Kim Dae-jung's flight path. There is no direct air travel between the Korean capitals, and hundreds of thousands of troops and heavy weapons are massed on both sides of the Demilitarized Zone between the Koreas. Some media have reported that Kim planned to fly off the western coast before heading inland to Pyongyang. South Korean media also suggested that North Korean officials were upset over southern reports speculating on the schedule of the three-day summit. The two leaders are expected to attend state dinners together, but the North has not released the itinerary. Pyongyang is said to be extremely 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 his return home. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
RELATED STORIES: Putin to make unprecedented trip to North Korea RELATED SITES: North Korea: Politics and Government | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back to the top |
© 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. |
![[CNN Money]](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/main/fn.logo.newsnet.gif){kind=logo}
![[SI.com]](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/images/main/si.logo.gif){kind=logo}
(
The U.S. government is looking forward to the summit, as CNN's Andrea Koppel reports. (June 12)
CNN's Mike Chinoy has background on the split between the two countries.
CNN's Rebecca Mackinnon looks at the relationship between the Koreas and China.
