North Korea, Moscow Cordiality Avoids Harsh Words for Others

MOSCOW － North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and President Vladimir Putin of Russia held summit talks at the Kremlin Saturday and announced an eight-point Moscow Declaration.

The two leaders touched on the withdrawal of U.S. Forces from South Korea, North Korea's missile development, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, making peace on the Korean Peninsula, linking the Trans-Siberian railway with the railway connecting the two Koreas, normalizing relations between Washington and Pyongyang and Pyong-yang's entry into the international community.

North Korea's missile development was purely peaceful and does not threaten nations that respect the North's sovereignty, the declaration said. At the same time, a government official said Sunday, "Chairman Kim confirmed to President Putin its moratorium on missile tests until 2003."

The two heads of state emphasized the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty as the cornerstone of strategic security and the basis for the reduction of offensive strategic weapons. The declaration said that Russia hoped for progress in dialogue between North Korea and the United States and Japan, indicating that it did not wish to confront Washington directly.

The two countries stated their agreement that support for the people of the two Koreas who want a peaceful reunification would contribute greatly to its happening. Russia said it was preparing to take a constructive and responsible role for positive developments on the Korean Peninsula.

The two sides agreed to link the Trans-Siberian railway with the inter-Korean railway, and Russia pledged to assist the North to rebuild 38 electric-power facilities, on the condition Pyongyang pay about $5.5 billion owed to Moscow.

The South Korean government said it hoped the joint declaration would contribute to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.

Political analysts in Seoul said that the two countries were seeking their interests while being careful not to inflame neighboring countries. Examples cited were indirect and implicit opposition to the proposed U.S. anti-missile shield by emphasizing the consolidation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the coupling of a phrase indicating desire for dialogue between the North and the United States and Japan with the passage that calls for the withdrawal of the 37,000 U.S. troops in Korea.

Experts concluded that the outlook for negotiations between Pyongyang and Tokyo and Washington is bright.

Russia reportedly agreed to describing as peaceful the North Korean missile program to emphasize the illegitimacy of U.S. pressure on Pyongyang. But it also called on the North to resume dialogue with Japan and the United States to showcase its will and ability to assist in the resolution of issues on the Korean Peninsula, critics said.

Most noteworthy to experts was the call for withdrawal of U.S. troops from the South, which was not mentioned in the declaration adopted by the two countries last July, when Mr. Putin visited Pyongyang. North Korea is thought to be using the issue to counter U.S. insistence on the reduction of its conventional forces as a mandatory agenda item.

The proposal to link the Siberian and Korean railways, experts said, indicated that economic cooperation between the two countries had reached a new level, after slow progress in the last 10 years.

by Kim Seok-hwan