ROK-DPRK Summit Chance for ProsperitySouth Korean President Kim Dae-jung said Monday that the summit with Kim Jong Il, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), in June may serve as an opportunity for national prosperity and development and bring hope for the Korean Peninsula."I cannot withhold my shock over the rapid progress of inter-Korean relations with the agreement on inter-Korean summit in June, although we have prepared for improvement in such relations," South Korean presidential spokesman Park Joon-young quoted Kim as saying at a press conference. President Kim will specify his position on the summit at a cabinet meeting late Monday. The presidential spokesman said the summit will help both sides to overcome national division and proceed with a new leap in national development. "A major change will come in the path of our nation," he said. According to an agreement reached by the two sides on Saturday in Beijing, China, Kim Dae-jung will travel to Pyongyang from June 12 to 14 for a historic summit with Kim Jong Il, both Seoul and Pyongyang announced Monday. The agreement was aimed at accelerating national reconciliation and unity, exchange and cooperation, peace and reunification, the DPRK's state KCNA news agency said Monday. It said the summit was requested by Kim Dae-jung. The agreement was reached in Beijing during a meeting between South Korean Culture and Tourism Minister Park Jie-won and Song Ho-gyong, vice chairman of the DPRK's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, Seoul said. It will be the first-ever summit between the two sides since the Korean War in the early 1950s. Under the agreement, the two sides will have a preliminary contact to make arrangements for the summit. The spokesman for Kim Dae-jung dismissed the claim by opposition parties that the government announced the summit to score political points in Thursday's general elections. "We expected that the announcement could be made in May or June at the earliest but the announcement was made earlier than expected because the DPRK suddenly delivered its willingness to agree to the summit meeting," he said. |
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