'Be Patient,' China Counsels

HANOI － Han Seung-soo, minister of foreign affairs and trade, asked his Chinese counterpart, Tang Jiaxuan, for help in getting North Korea back into talks with Seoul. In Hanoi on Tuesday, Mr. Han also held unofficial talks with a North Korean representative on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its dialogue partners.

Mr. Han, emphasizing the necessity of maintaining the momentum of reconciliation and cooperation on the Korean Peninsula, told Mr. Tang that it is equally important for Pyongyang to reopen talks with Washington.

"It is advisable to be patient in the reconciliation and cooperation policies toward North Korea," Mr. Tang responded. "Economic conditions in North Korea have improved, but the food and energy shortages are serious."

The two men agreed in principle on a meeting of their heads of government at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting to be held in Shanghai in October.

Mr. Han also praised the Chinese government's "thoughtful consideration" in sending North Korean defector Jang Gil-suh and his family to South Korea.

"Gil-suh's family was a special case, and we took into special consideration their situation on humanitarian grounds," Mr. Tang said. But he reconfirmed the Chinese government's stance that the Jang family were economic migrants, not refugees.

The two officials agreed with the need to rectify alleged distortions in Japanese history textbooks and agreed to oppose the textbooks as they see fit and to exchange opinions on the matter.

Mr. Han also had an unofficial meeting with the chief North Korean delegate, roving ambassador Ho Jong, Tuesday night at dinner.

The two officials exchanged opinions on the resumption of dialogue between the two Koreas and deliberated whether or not to include a clause in the ASEAN chairman's closing statement on Wednesday expressing support for holding a second inter-Korean summit as soon as possible.

Mr. Ho did not express any particular objection, Seoul officials said, but they noted the limitations of any discussion with a vice-ministerial level ambassador, such as Mr. Ho, in the absence of North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun.

by Lee Chul-hee