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On a state visit to Poland, President Roh Moo-hyun, discussing the issue of North Korea¡¯s regime stability, said Saturday (local time), ¡°Up till now, people have been saying that North Korea would collapse, but it hasn¡¯t... It appears there¡¯s almost no possibility of North Korea collapsing.¡±
Speaking during a discussion with ethnic Koreans at the Hyatt Hotel in Warsaw, Roh said, "China is helping North Korea in several ways to help prevent its collapse."
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President Roh Moo-hyun inspects the statue of a boy soldier who fought in World War II at Warsaw's Museum of Independence on Saturday morning (local time) on the sidelines of his Poland trip.
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"China is helping because should a situation arise in which something happens in North Korea and tens of thousands of people start crossing over the Yalu River into China, it couldn't deal with the numbers of people... Since South Korea, too, would face a number of difficulties, we do not want the North to break up," he added.
Roh continued to stress that, "Within the United States, there are many who call for a hardline position, quite different from the attitude of the U.S. government. Besides resolving issues with dialogue, however, there isn't much room to choose.
"The North Korean nuclear issue must be solved from the angle of the security and prosperity of the Korean people. One mustn't solve the nuclear weapon issue at the expense of destroying the Korean peninsula. Because of this, Koreans' views are crucially important, and no Korean would want to repeat a fratricidal war.
"If all nations were to take the firm position that they will not tolerate North Korea possessing nuclear weapons, there would be a limit to which it could resist. " he said.
On Saturday morning (Saturday night Korean time), President Roh had brunch with Korean and Polish economic officials, including a surprise appearance from Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, who was originally scheduled to visit the Ukraine. Roh's emphasis on the need for greater economic cooperation between the two countries won strong approval from the Polish side.
President Kwasniewski said, "I encourage you to follow LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, SK Global and Hanyang Precision Tools and others in more boldly and aggressively investing in Poland."
The Polish premier outlined his vision of reaching the point where products that bore the mark "Made in Poland" would be held in the same regard on the peninsula as Korean products were in Poland.
President Roh stressed the bright future of both countries, saying, "The citizens of both nations have experienced many hardships, but have maintained their independence and existence as a people... Korea is building the 'Miracle on the Han River' upon the ashes of war, while Poland is realizing its own 'Miracle on the Vistula'."
Meanwhile, in an interview with the widely read Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, President Roh said, "Koreans love and greatly respect Polish heroes like Copernicus, Chopin and Pope John Paul II."
During his discussion with the Korean and Polish economic leaders, Roh expressed a strong affinity with Poland, saying, "I, like most Koreans, was brought up regaled with the stories of great Poles like Madame Curie and the music of Chopin."
Roh departed for France on Sunday to complete the final leg of his three-nation European tour.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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