North and South Korea End First Round of Talks

12/08/2002| IslamWeb

North and South Korea ended an initial round of high-level talks Monday and gave little away about what had been discussed. The talks lasted just over an hour, and the delegations were expected to dine together later. The negotiations resume Tuesday. Asked what the outcome of the three-day talks would be, North Korean delegation chief Kim Ryung-sung told reporters: "You may expect something positive. I am expecting a large fruit."

There was no word from South Korean Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun, who heads Seoul's delegation, but South Korean officials were briefing reporters. The talks started later than scheduled after a delay over fine-tuning the timetable.

The talks are significant because they are part of a broader pattern of inter-Korean meetings and dialogue that embraces two other rivals of the North -- Japan and the United States. They also come after Pyongyang has introduced tentative economic changes to its creaking system and months before a December presidential election in the South.

The South Korean minister said he believes the four major powers with keen interest in the Korean peninsula - the United States, Japan, China and Russia - as well as the European Union will closely watch the talks to decide how to formulate their policy toward North Korea.

"In this sense, we should make specific promises at these talks, rather than attempting to make new promises," he said.
The North Korean negotiator concurred, saying: "Yes, I agree. Producing an agreement is important, but more important is implementing it."

The two officials expressed hope that the Seoul talks would build upon a historic inter-Korean summit accord reached on June 15, 2000.

PHOTO CAPTION

A North Korean Chief Cabinet Councilor Kim Ryong Song, left, shakes hands with Yoon Jin-sik, South Korean Vice Minister of Ministry of Finance and Economy, upon his arrival at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, Monday, Aug. 12, 2002. South and North Korea begin a three-day ministerial talks, starting today in Seoul to discuss bilateral projects, on which the two sides had previously agreed but had trouble implementing. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, POOL)