S. Korea pushes for second summit

'That promise must be kept and I believe it will': Kim Dae-jung

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korean President Kim Dae-jung has reminded North Korea's leader of his promise to visit Seoul for a second summit.

North Korean ruler Kim Jong Il promised the South Korean president during a historic summit in Pyongyang last June he would travel to Seoul to help end decades of tension between the two nations on the divided peninsula.

Last June's summit between the two Kims was the first of its kind since the peninsula was divided into the communist North and the pro-Western South at the end of World War II. It was the biggest step toward peace since the 1950-53 Korean War.

But as the one-year anniversary of the June 15 summit draws near, Kim Jong Il has yet to announce a date, and tense ties between the United States and North Korea has slowed inter-Korean reconciliation this year.

In a ceremony marking Memorial Day, the South Korean president said he had asked North Korea to tell him when their leader would be able to visit Seoul.

"I want to remind them again today," he said. "That promise must be kept and I believe it will."

It's the second reminder President Kim has delivered in two weeks.

North Korea has repeatedly said it will stick to terms of last year's summit agreement, which includes Kim Jong Il's visit to Seoul and economic and humanitarian exchanges.

However, Pyongyang has backed out of a number of scheduled meetings with South Korean officials without any explanation.

First reminder

During a tea party with foreign correspondents on May 24, President Kim urged Kim Jong Il to use the anniversary of the summit agreement to verify his plan for a Seoul visit.

Kim Dae-jung won last year's Nobel Peace Prize in part for his policy of Sunshine Policy of engaging North Korea.

The policy aims to bring together the two neighbors who are still technically at war under a 1953 armed truce.

However, a flurry of exchanges touched off by the summit has stalled in recent months, freezing progress in fostering business contacts or relinking the divided peninsula by rail and road.

North Korea also has accused U.S. President George W. Bush's administration of adopting a hostile policy toward the North.

Washington is South Korea's closest ally and the South thinks both inter-Korean reconciliation and better ties between North Korea and the United States is key to peace on the peninsula.

Threat and warning

In the latest development, North Korea has warned it will reconsider its moratorium on missile tests if the Bush administration does not resume contacts aimed at normalizing relations, a U.S. researcher said.

Selig S. Harrison, a senior fellow of the Century Foundation in Washington, told The Associated Press in Beijing he talked with North Korea's Foreign Minister Paek Nam Soon and other top officials.

The communist state announced the moratorium in September 1999.

It was also reported that Pyongyang had also threatened it will resume building reactors unless the United States pays compensation for the delayed construction of newer and faster power plants.

The West suspected the reactors as part of North Korea's weapons program, but the communist state said the delay has led to electricity shortages.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.