Pres. Kim Confers With Many Leaders at APEC

President Kim Dae Jung met Al Gore, the U.S. vice president and exchanged opinions on the alleged nuclear facilities in North Korea as well as the financial crisis in Asia. He also met other leaders including Australian prime minister John Howard, Jean Chretien, the Canadian prime minister, and Euduardo Frey, president of Chile.
President Kim said, during the meeting with Mr. Gore, 'There are both positive and negative aspects on the Korean Peninsula including the alleged underground nuclear facilities in North Korea and the Mt. Kumgang tourism program. Both the U.S. and Korea should prepare a perfect security system and continue to build on the positive aspects.' Kim and Gore agreed that both countries will make every effort to abide by the Geneva Agreement and urge North Korea to fulfill their agreement.
He expressed regret on the disagreement over free trade among the APEC ministers at the conference and said, 'the financial crisis agenda should be solved through cooperation among the economic superpowers including the U.S., China, and Japan.'
President Kim agreed with Chilean President Frey to commence staff level discussions for a free trade agreement between Korea and Chile. Kim agreed with Jean Chretien, the Canadian prime minister, to cooperate in entering the Chinese and Turkish nuclear electric power generation markets. Additionally, the President received three personal letters from U.S. President Bill Clinton.