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Koreas to Seek a Formal Peace Treaty
North Korean students perform during a gymnastic extravaganza at the May Day stadium in Pyongyang for visiting South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun.
(Pool Photos Via Associated Press)
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During the talks, Roh suggested to Kim that a second industrial zone should be built in the North with South Korea's help, officials said.
[an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive]It would be similar to the Kaesong industrial complex, a creation of the first North-South summit in 2000. About 17,000 North Koreans work there, although its ability to produce goods for export has been crimped by trade sanctions.
The two leaders also agreed to push for talks to bring the Korean War to a formal close. The two countries share the world's most militarized border, as well as a five-decades-old armistice that has not been formalized as a peace treaty.
Such a treaty, though, would probably also require the endorsement of the United States and China, who were combatants in the war. The United States has said it would not agree to such a treaty until North Korea moved to end its nuclear weapons program.
The talks in Pyongyang were somewhat overshadowed by North Korea's negotiations with other countries, particularly the United States.
An announcement from Beijing on Wednesday said that by the end of the year, North Korea would disclose all its nuclear programs and disable its main nuclear plant, with the United States paying for the work.
Based on six-nation talks, the deal will apparently give Kim something that he has long demanded: lifting of some trade restrictions and more access to world markets and financial credits. The announcement suggests the United States, as Pyongyang disables its nuclear program, will begin removing North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism and ending trade sanctions.
South Korean officials on Thursday linked the announcement over nuclear disablement to what they called the "successful" North-South talks in Pyongyang. They spoke of a "virtuous cycle" of improving prospects for long-term peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.
Roh, whose term expires early next year and whose popularity has plunged in recent months, had for years sought a summit with the North. His political opponents, as well as many skeptical South Koreans, said Roh wanted a summit to bolster his party's poor prospects in the December presidential election.
Roh appears to have gotten some bounce in his dismal poll number from the meeting. His popularity jumped about 9 percentage points in the past three days, reaching 31 percent, according to a poll released by a Seoul radio station that often does credible public opinion surveys.
Special correspondent Stella Kim contributed to this report.
