South Korean Minister Says Inter-Korean Talks to Be Resumed SoonThe inter-Korean dialogue will be resumed soon and the inter-Korean relations will develop in a new direction, South Korean Unification Minister Lim Dong-won said Monday afternoon.South Korea will by all means realize the second inter-Korean summit as was agreed at the June 15 Joint South-North Declaration to realize a turning point in inter-Korean relations, said Lim. He said South Korea will work harder to enhance inter-Korean ties by carrying out implementation of agreements reached at the first inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang on June 13-15 last year. The minister also voiced his hope for early completion of the severed inter-Korean Kyongui Railroad's reconstruction, early launching of the first-phase construction of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( DPRK), settlement of the separated family issues and inter-Korean military confidence-building. This is the first time that a high-ranking South Korean official made public that the inter-Korean talks will be restored since the talks were stalled last January when George W. Bush became the United States president. Last month, President Bush announced that Washington would resume dialogue with Pyongyang after his foreign policy team completed a review of Clinton's administration policy to toward the DPRK. |
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