Uncertainty Prevails Ahead of Seoul Talks

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Uncertainty Prevails Ahead of Seoul Talks

The scheduled visits by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs James Kelly have sparked guessing within the Seoul government on what the visits will mean for the future of inter-Korean affairs.

Mr. Armitage and Mr. Kelly will arrive in Seoul on Wednesday for two days of working-level consultations with South Korean officials.

During the landmark visit to Pyongyang by a European Union delegation May 1-2, North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, said Pyongyang would maintain a missile test moratorium through 2003, but will continue to export its weapons technology. On May 1, the U.S. announced that it will build a missile defense shield.

"We will address the array of pending issues, which all rest on the premise of support for President Kim Dae-jung's policy of reconciliation and cooperation with North Korea," a Seoul government official said on condition on anonymity.

Pending issues are the proposed missile shield program, replacing the light-water nuclear reactors under construction at Sinpo, North Korea with conventional power plants, North Korean missiles and plans for a second inter-Korean summit.

"The main priority for the Armitage team, however, will be to explain the missile shield program to our government," the official said. The visiting team is expected to press for Seoul's active support for the proposed shield, which rests on the assumption that so-called rogue states, as Washington has labeled North Korea and Iran, could launch missiles at the U.S. and its allies.



by Ahn Sung-kyoo

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