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Leaders reach agreement at historic North-South Korean summit

June 14, 2000
Web posted at: 9:35 p.m. HKT (1335 GMT)

In this story: Reunions are South's priority Representative offices discussed Summit creates fervor South Korean leader seeks peace Washington, Moscow applaud summit RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

PYONGYANG, North Korea -- The leaders of North and South Korea reached a landmark agreement Wednesday, with South Korean President Kim Dae-jung telling a banquet in Pyongyang that the historic summit had "reached a successful conclusion."

South Korean media said Kim and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il signed the summit communique at 9 p.m. (noon GMT).

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A report said both sides "have developed an understanding on all issues."

A face-to-face meeting between the two presidents earlier Wednesday began with a surprise.

A smiling and relaxed Kim Jong Il, long reported to be a recluse, was filmed by television reporters making small talk with Kim Dae-jung prior to their meeting -- and cracking jokes about his being a "hermit."

"The Western media wonder why I am leading a reclusive life," Kim Jong Ill said Wednesday, "and they say a recluse made his first public appearance" in Pyongyang on Tuesday by greeting Kim Dae-jung at the airport.

"But I have visited China and Indonesia in the past, and also made many unofficial visits overseas. So, I don't understand why I was described as reclusive," he said.

"Western news reports say President Kim's visit helped me out of seclusion," he said, causing his counterpart and the other North and South Korean officials sitting at the conference table to explode in laughter.

During their meeting, which began at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT), Kim Dae-jung was expected to urge the North Korean leader to agree to reunions of families separated during the Korean War. Kim Jong Il, who reporters said appeared knowledgeable, articulate and in charge, said he knew about the issue.

Kim Dae-jung's immediate priority is to give some of the seven million South Koreans, many of them elderly and with relatives or ancestors in the North, the chance to visit family members they have not seen for nearly half a century.

"The president said that he thinks the important thing is to reach agreements on matters that can easily be put into practice, though small, and to implement them one by one," South Korean presidential spokesman Park Joon-young said Wednesday.

Kim Dae-jung was also expected to invite the North Korean leader to visit Seoul for a reciprocal summit, and to emphasize the need for continued dialogue between the nations.

"We are entering a new phase," said Lee Jong-suk, senior research fellow at South Korea's Sejong Institute, and a member of Kim Dae-jung's entourage. "The phase of confrontation is over."

North and South Korea remain technically at war decades after the 1950-53 Korean War. The nations exchanged heavy fire in the Yellow Sea almost a year, at which time a North Korean boat was sunk. It was the bloodiest battle between the Koreas since the end of the war.

Kim Dae-jung, despite being scorned by his political opponents, refused to the let that incident alter his "sunshine policy" of engagement with the North, which had a history of terrorism, infiltration and provocations against the South.

Representative offices discussed

Earlier in the day, Kim Dae-jung and North Korean legislative leader Kim Young Nam discussed the possibility of opening representative offices in each other's countries.

They also talked about ways of improving economic cooperation -- including road, rail and other social infrastructure projects, to help boost the North's nearly collapsed economy. The South reportedly wants to expand trade with the North, and take advantage of the North's labor force.

South Korea agreed Wednesday to speed up fertilizer deliveries to famine-hit North Korea ahead of rice planting. Seoul's Agriculture Ministry said in a statement it would complete the delivery of 200,000 tons of fertilizer by June 20, about 10 days ahead of schedule.

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.

Investment guarantees and elimination of double taxation to spur South Korean spending in the North was also discussed. Living standards in North Korea are approximately one-tenth of the standards in the South.

Summit creates fervor

The historic, three-day summit began Tuesday amid a near religious fervor in South Korea, where many people hoped for a dramatic breakthrough in the decades of tension. Kim Dae-jung is the first South Korean leader to visit North Korea.

The 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.

Kim Jong Il had helped to create the wave of euphoria and high expectations in South Korea when he greeted Kim Dae-jung at Pyongyang's Sunan Airport -- with a two-handed handshake. That gesture -- a sign of friendship and respect in Korea -- set the encouraging tone for the talks.

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 past.

However, some analysts expressed concern about that euphoria.

"South Korean media has portrayed this as such a historic, groundbreaking, unparalleled event that everything from this is a letdown," said Lee Chong-min of Yonsei University.

"And that is the problem," Lee said.

South Korean leader seeks peace

Kim Dae-jung cautioned against unrealistic expectations before he left South Korea. He said his top priorities were to meet Kim Jong Il, and to have a heart-to-heart talk with the North Korean leader.

Kim Dae-jung, however, 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.

North Korea also appears interested in forging a new relationship with its long-time enemy, but without changing its political system.

"From Kim Jong Il's perspective, he meets with Kim Dae-jung, he makes some kind of general agreement or principled agreement, and in exchange he gets economic assistance from South Korea without any political conditions," said Lee.

Washington, Moscow applaud summit

Washington and Moscow led the applause for Tuesday's historic meeting, and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan hoped the summit marked "the beginning of a new era of mutual trust and cooperation between the two Koreas."

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it welcomed the summit, which is taking place a few weeks before Russian President Vladimir Putin is to visit North Korea.

Said White House spokesman Joe Lockhart: "You know, it's impossible to predict at this point where these talks will lead, but it's obviously an important step and an important part of the process that they have been brought together in this forum to have discussions directly."

Seoul Bureau Chief Sohn Jie-Ae,
Correspondent Mike Chinoy,
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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