President Kim Eager to Clarify Summit Details to Nation

President Kim Dae-jung announced June 21 that "it is necessary to inform the public of the truthful account of the summit in order to consolidate the summit-related opinion of the nation.

"The Pyongyang declaration (June 15 South-North Joint Declaration) is the highest level diplomatic document; it has authority over all other agreements and joint statements," asserted President Kim when Millennium Democratic Party representative Suh Young-hoon reported on party affairs.

President Kim added, "I told (North Korean National Defense Commission chairman) Kim Jong-il that in order to resolve the issues of our nation independently, North Korea should establish close relations with the United States and Japan; South Korea should maintain its ties with the United States and Japan while also securing close relations with China and Russia,'"

Regarding the reciprocity of economic cooperation with North Korea, an issue frequently raised by the opposition party, President Kim commented, "differently from one-time events in areas like culture and sports, economic cooperation needs a number of years. Economic cooperation and harmony, once successful, would considerably ease the tension between the North and South; but it takes a long time to bring about."

by Kim Jung-wok