|
President Roh Moo-hyun on Tuesday hinted that a second inter-Korean summit could be held regardless of progress in six-country talks on North Korea¡¯s nuclear program. Roh also said, ¡°We intend to make many concessions¡± to North Korea if such a meeting is to take place.
¡°I am completely open-minded when it comes to North Korea,¡± Roh told Koreans living in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator. As far as he was concerned, the president said, ¡°the two Koreas need to meet and talk to each other in any place and at any time regardless of the subject.¡± A senior Choeng Wa Dae official later stressed Roh was referring to inter-Korean meetings at various levels from working-level talks to summits.
But the remarks suggest a substantial departure from Roh¡¯s previous position that results and substance are more important than a summit. Pundits pricked up their ears since the change of tack comes ahead of a planned visit to North Korea by former president Kim Dae-jung whose purpose has invited much speculation. Kim achieved the first inter-Korean summit in 2000.
After a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush last year, Roh called meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-il ¡°a good idea¡± but added substance mattered more. ¡°I won¡¯t blindly go the extra mile just for the sake of a possible inter-Korean summit.¡±
Asked in Tuesday¡¯s meeting if logistics costs can be reduced between Korea and Mongolia by connecting the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Trans-Korean Railway, Roh said, ¡°There are things that the government cannot readily do considering its relations with the U.S. and neighboring nations. If former president Kim is able to open the doors for doing such things, maybe I can do them in a roundabout way.¡± He added he had ¡°high hopes¡± that the two Kims will engage in productive dialogue in an informal and flexible manner.
Roh went on to say ¡°We intend to make many concessions (to North Korea)¡± and ¡°When it comes to systemic and material support other than issues such as the Korean War which are important in terms of essence and legitimacy, we intend to do things in an unconditional way¡±.
Roh¡¯s remarks are expected to cause controversy as they can be translated in a way that the two Koreas may be able to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue by having a direct dialogue with each other under the current circumstances where the six-party talks have been stalled for a long time and in doing so, Seoul can offer assistance including electricity on a large scale.
¡°It is not that president Ron proposed to hold an inter-Korean summit by saying so¡±, a high-ranking official with Cheong Wa Dae said. ¡°Those are the ones that president Roh often makes ordinarily¡±, the official added.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
