ASEM Wraps Up Successfully

Leaders from Asia and Europe ended a two-day summit in Seoul by endorsing a new framework for the two continents with a pledge of committing the Asia-Euopre Meeting for the first time to promote human rights.

"ASEM leaders envisage Asia and Europe as an area of peace and shared development with common interests and aspirations such as ... respect for democracy, human rights," the 29-point Asia-Europe Cooperation Framework said. The chairman's statement by President Kim Dae-jung also said the leaders "committed themselves to promote and protect all human rights."

Despite objections by some Asian countries, including China and Malaysia, the blueprint for ASEM's future spoke of protection of human rights. Opposition was voiced by members who cited concern over "intervention in internal affairs."

"The strengthening of political dialogue was strongly proposed by some European countries including France. The inclusion is seen as a willingness by these members to seek a more active role of the biennial summit by focusing on international issues," a Foreign Affairs Ministry official said.

Officials singled out a pledge from the leaders to improve ties with North Korea as the most significant achievement of the summit.

Several European countries, including Britain, Germany and Spain, announced at the summit they would recognize the communist state that has long been isolated by the international community.

Early this year, Italy became the sixth European country to normalize ties with North Korea after Austria, Denmark, Finland, Portugal and Sweden.

"Following the inter-Korean summit and President Kim's winning the Nobel Peace Prize, the pledge from ASEM countries to improve ties with the North is going to give a boost to reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula," a government source said.

However, not all ASEM members were welcoming the North's quest for diplomatic relations with open arms. President Jacques Chirac of France told a news conference that his country was also ready to form ties but only when the North shows willingness to respond to two major issues - non-proliferation and improvement of human rights.

Wrapping up the third ASEM talks, President Kim hailed them as a "major step forward in Europe-Asia cooperation."

by Choi Hoon