President Kim Will Meet Chairman Chung

President Kim Dae Jung will meet with Chung Ju Yung, honorary chairman of Hyundai Group, on November 2, at 9 am at the Blue House(Chong Wa Dae).
Chung visited North Korea for the second time this year with more cattle and Hyundai-made automobiles and finally succeeded in meeting the North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang.
This meeting was arranged by Chung because of his strong desire to personally report to President Kim the details of his NK trip.
The two were originally not supposed to meet each other, until the president determined to do so. Especially, after Chung met with Kim Jong Il, the possibility that a message was sent via Chung to President Kim that will include future North-South relations, is noteworthy.
The fact that the North's Kim was resolved to see Chung and accepted, for the first time, South Korean tourists into their territory reflects the current shortage of provisions and foreign currency (U.S. dollars).
North Korea agreed to open and grant the previlege of Mt. Kumgang tours exclusively to Hyundai until 2004. They will receive almost 1 billion dollars from Hyundai.
However North Korea is still not interested in having contact with South Korean tourists since they are only eager to earn as much money as possible without jeopardizing their isolation.
Hyundai, nevertheless, is starting their ambitious plan to commercially invade North Korean territory by building a car-radio assembly factory. If economic gains are not realized by the South, full-scaled cooperative ventures and exchanges between the two Koreas will take a lot more time whether one side wants it or not.