Kim Jong Il Responds Positively to Kim Dae-jung's Message: Megawati

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, March 31, 2002

Kim Jong Il Responds Positively to Kim Dae-jung's Message: Megawati

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Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri said Saturday that a message from South Korean President Kim Dae-jung she carried to Pyongyang has received a positive response from DPRK leader Kim Jong Il.

"Before I went to North Korea, (South Korean) President Kim Dae-jun gave me a message for Chairman Kim Jong Il. In response to this, Chairman Kim made a positive expression," she said, without elaborating on either Pyongyang's response or Seoul's message, at a joint news conference after talks with President Kim Dae-jung.

"Chairman Kim conveyed his regards to President Kim Dae-jung," Megawati added, who arrived here Saturday after a three-day visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). She will leave for India on April 1.

A government source said Kim Jong Il told Megawati that Pyongyang expects Inter-Korea talks to resume soon.

"The north and the south side (on the Korean Peninsula) should meet at the earliest date and talk in an open-minded and sincere manner," Yim Sung-joon, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and national security, cited Kim Jong Il as saying.

The DPRK leader also reportedly said a special envoy from the south will soon come to Pyongyang, referring to Lim Dong-won, who was recently appointed as the south's special presidential envoy for trip to Pyongyang on April 3.

Lim, South Korea's special presidential aide for foreign affairs, national security and unification, will convey a letter written by Kim Dae-jung to Kim Jong Il during his talks with the latter.

Kim Dae-jung's letter reiterates Seoul's position on relations between the north and south on the Korean Peninsula and the Pyongyang-Washington ties, urging early resumption of both the Inter-Korea talks and Pyongyang-Washington dialogue.

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DPRK Shows Interest in Reopening Talks With S.Korea: Megawati