Now for the Fine-Tuning

President Kim Dae-jung returned home Sunday, winding up his six-day trip to United States during which he pitched his
engagement policy toward North Korea to the new administration.

President George W. Bush lauded the June 15 inter-Korean summit, and expressed active support for our North Korean policy during our summit,ld Mr. Kim said at a news conference at the Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Kyonggi province.

It is a great achievement in that Mr. Bush and I were able to agree completely on this point.
Seoul and Washington can now begin fine-tuning our views regarding [development in] relations between the United States and North Korea,ln he said.

It is true that Mr. Bush expressed skepticism about North Korea,ln Mr. Kim admitted. We have found out on what areas
President Bush harbors concerns. Thus we will take that into account in our future North Korean policies. And I intend to convey to North Korea Mr. Bush's concerns.l'
Mr. Kim suggested in Washington a comprehensive reciprocitylJ exchange between Seoul and Pyongyang, and between Pyongyang and Washington.

He called for North Korea to strictly abide by the 1994 Agreed Framework which stopped its nuclear program in return for the building of two nuclear power plants; agree to stop missile production and exports, and to guarantee non-aggression toward South Korea.

In exchange, South Korea and the United States would jointly ensure the safety of the North Korean regime, and help North Korea to gain wider entry into the international community and earn aid from international organizations.
During a meeting with leaders of the Korean community in Chicago on Saturday, Mr. Kim said that he would persuade
North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il on the need for permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.

At the second summit with National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il, I will have a dialogue with him that there must be no more war for the peace of the Korean peoples.

by Kim Jin-kook