North and South Korean leaders move closer to peace

The leaders of North and South Korea met on Tuesday for the first time since World War II. Though the talks are being lauded as a major step forward for the two countries, many South Korean observers are concerned that President Roh Moo-hyun may make too many concessions on the key issues of investment and free-trade zones. Meanwhile, diplomats in Beijing reported progress in creating a timetable that could see the North decommission its nuclear weapons.

President Roh shook hands with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il at a lavish outdoor ceremony in the North Korean capital, reports the Yonhap News Agency, a South Korean newswire. Roh prefaced the meeting with words reminiscent of President Ronald Reagan's comments at the Berlin Wall a generation ago.

"This is an important day. I'm excited, but I have a heavy heart. I can see nothing around here. But this (invisible) border line has been a barrier separating the Korean people for the past half a century," said the president.

"The Korean people have suffered too much pain because of this border line and development has been deterred. I'm now crossing this forbidden line. More people will follow me on this overland inter-Korean trip. Then this forbidden line will gradually disappear. The barrier will collapse," said Roh.

The president then pledged to work harder to pave the way for inter-Korean peace and prosperity.

"Let's remove the forbidden barrier and relieve the Korean people's pain. We have to move on the path to peace and co-prosperity."

Discussions aimed at disarming the North were largely positive before the group broke for a two-day recess, The New York Times reported.

"Assuming we go forward with this, it really lays out an entire road map through the end of the year," the chief American negotiator to the talks, Christopher R. Hill, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said before leaving for Washington, according to Reuters. "Frankly, of all the six-party meetings, this was the least stressful in terms of coming up with common positions." He added that the talks were "really into the nuts and bolts now of implementing denuclearization."

Under an agreement reached in February after four years of talks, the North pledged to shut its plutonium producing reactor at Yongbyon and allow international inspectors to verify the shutdown in return for 50,000 metric tons of fuel oil. The reactor was shut in July, and the North has begun to receive fuel shipments.

The talks now under way in Beijing are aimed at carrying out the second part of the February deal that calls for the North to disclose all its nuclear programs and disable all facilities in return for a further 950,000 metric tons of fuel oil or its equivalent in economic aid.

The Korea Times, an English-language daily based in Seoul, carries an opinion piece from the head of the South Korean Red Cross saying much more needs to be done to bring the two divided states closer together.

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