Seoul Begins Full Preparations for Inter-Korean SummitROK President Kim Dae-jung Tuesday instructed his government to begin full preparations for the inter-Korean summit scheduled for June 12-14 in Pyongyang this year.At a cabinet meeting, President Kim requested that all related agencies should get thoroughly prepared in order to make the summit a success. The Unification Ministry is in charge of mapping out specific measures for working-level preparatory talks for the summit, including the date, location, delegation formation and consulting format. The ministry is to propose this weekend to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) that a preliminary meeting should be held at an earliest possible date. The Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry will set the agenda for the summit, while taking measures to cooperate with the United States, Japan, China and Russia. Ministries of finance and construction will work for the operation of the joint economic committee, which is stipulated in the agreement on South-North reconciliation and exchange in 1992. Meanwhile, a task force will be established, to be headed by Hwang Won-tak, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and national security. The team, consisting of senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs Lee Ki-ho, Presidential Spokesman Park Joon-young and Chief of the Presidential Security Service An Joo-sup, will take charge of the itinerary of President Kim's visit to Pyongyang. President Kim will travel to Pyongyang to hold a summit with DPRK leader Kim Jung-il under an agreement reached by the two sides in Beijing on April 8 this year. It will be the first summit between the two sides since the Korean War in the early 1950s. |
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