S.Korean President Meets Head of DPRK DelegationSouth Korean President Kim Dae-jung said Monday that delegations from Seoul and Pyongyang should understand and cooperate each other at the fifth inter-Korean ministerial meeting in bid to achieve more fruits.During meeting with Kim Kyong Song, head of the delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Monday afternoon, President Kim also expressed hope that the South-North Joint Declaration signed on June 15 last year could be carried out so that the inter-Korean ties could further improve. Meanwhile, President Kim pointed out that the international situation has become more complicated due to the terrorist attacks in the United States, the two sides should further seek peace and implement the joint declaration at the special time. In response, Kim Kyong Song, senior cabinet councilor of the DPRK, said the ministerial talks held under the current complex international situation show the efforts by both sides to implement the joint declaration, which was signed by President Kim and DPRK leader Kim Jong Il at the close of the first inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang. The DPRK official also said he will try his best to make the talks fruitful, adding that both sides could make great progress in their ties so long as they work in accordance with the spirit of the joint declaration. The two delegations are close to an agreement on the issues of common concerns and they will issue a joint statement after completing the talks Tuesday, said Lee Bong-jo, spokesman of the South Korean delegation, Monday afternoon. Last Tuesday, the negotiators held a series of working-level discussions, including early relinking the severed inter-Korean railway and highway, restoration of inter-Korean Red Cross talks, a tourism program of an overland route for South Koreans to the DPRK Mount Kumgang and sports exchanges. "Negotiations are still underway, but we expect a good result on the Mount Kumgang tourism project," the spokesman said in an evening briefing. However, he indicated that talks on the DPRK demand for electricity aid failed to make progress. At Sunday's talks, the DPRK delegation repeated its earlier demand for electricity supply. At the fourth ministerial inter- Korean talks last December, Pyongyang required Seoul to provide 500,000 kilowatts of electricity. Earlier Monday, Kim Ryong Song expressed his optimism about the prospects for the talks, saying "opinions between South and North are being narrowed considerably and the speedy progress is a promising sign." The 27-member DPRK delegation arrived here Saturday afternoon for the four-day talks. |
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