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Korean leaders meet at historic summit
2007-10-02
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il showed scant enthusiasm for the visiting South Korean president on Tuesday, while orchestrated crowds of thousands cheered the start of the second summit between the divided Koreas since World War II. The reception in Pyongyang contrasted with the first North-South summit in 2000, when Kim greeted then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung with smiles and clasped both his hands tightly in an emotional moment that softened the North Korean strongman's image to South Koreans and the world. This time, Kim appeared reserved and unemotional, walking slowly and occasionally clapping lightly to encourage the crowd at the outdoor welcome ceremony waving red and pink paper flowers. The North's official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim was greeted by cheers from citizens "rocking the earth and sky." South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun appeared to revel in the moment, waving and smiling broadly before reviewing a goose-stepping North Korean military honor guard wielding rifles with bayonets -- part of its million-strong forces that face the South across the world's most heavily armed frontier. The 12-minute encounter was the only known meeting Tuesday between the leaders, who were to begin formal talks Wednesday. According to South Korean pool reports, they did not exchange any substantive words beyond simply telling each other, "I'm glad to meet you." Roh has said his goal at the summit is fostering peace and prosperity between the North and South, which remain technically at war since a 1953 cease-fire halted the Korean War despite seven years of warming ties since their first summit. But Roh has not given any specifics about what he will propose or seeks in return, prompting criticism from conservatives at home that the summit is an ego trip for Roh, seeking to establish a legacy for his unpopular administration that ends in February. Both Roh and Kim also hope to keep the surging conservatives from winning South Korea's December presidential election, where they hold a commanding lead in opinion polls. The main opposition Grand National Party is more skeptical of relations with the North, insisting aid be conditional on progress on nuclear disarmament along with reforms to the country's centralized economy. Roh's eager embrace of the North has also caused friction with Seoul's ally Washington, which believes relations between the Koreas should only follow progress in Pyongyang's nuclear disarmament. Earlier during the 125-mile journey by road from Seoul, Roh stepped out of his vehicle to walk across the border that divides the Koreas in the center of the Demilitarized Zone -- the first time any Korean leader has crossed the land border. In the first summit between the Koreas in 2000, the South's Kim flew to Pyongyang. "This line is a wall that has divided the nation for a half-century. Our people have suffered from too many hardships and development has been held up due to this wall," Roh said before crossing. "I will make efforts to make my walk across the border an occasion to remove the forbidden wall and move toward peace and prosperity." Upon entering Pyongyang, Roh switched to an open-top car and was joined by the North's No. 2 leader, Kim Yong Nam. Both rode for some 20 minutes through the North's showcase capital, waving to hundreds of thousands of residents who chanted "Reunification of the Fatherland!" and "Welcome!" This week's summit, which runs through Thursday, comes a year after the North conducted its first test detonation of a nuclear bomb, catalyzing world opposition to the regime. However, the explosion soon led to a reversal of Washington's hard-line policy on the North that has lately seen relations improve between the longtime foes. In July, North Korea shut down its sole operating nuclear reactor that produced material for bombs, and the country has tentatively agreed to disable its atomic facilities by year-end in a way that they cannot be easily restarted. Before leaving the South Korean capital, Roh acknowledged that the two Koreas alone could not totally resolve the nuclear standoff or bring peace to the peninsula. North Korea is involved in international talks, which include the U.S. and other regional powers, on its nuclear weapons program. A peace settlement to the Korean War would require the participation of the U.S. and China, both of which also fought in that conflict. "Even if we do not reach an agreement in many areas, it would still be a meaningful achievement to narrow the gap in understanding and to enhance confidence in each other," Roh said of the meeting with Kim. Washington was skeptical the summit would lead to tangible progress. "I certainly am not looking for those inter-Korean discussions to change the basic facts on the ground," U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Monday. ___ Associated Press writers Kwang-tae Kim and Jae-soon Chang contributed to this report.
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