Kim Jong-il Meeting Sought

PYONGYANG － The North Korean government is considering providing the South Korean delegation the forum for talks Monday with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as part of the continuing Liberation Day celebration.

"We proposed a dinner party hosted by Chairman Kim in order to redeem the Liberation Day celebration that was spoiled because of discord over the site of the event," Reverend Kim Jong-su, who led the delegation, said Friday at a press conference. "North Korean government officials have responded that they would contemplate the proposal."

National Defense Commission Chairman Kim is expected to return to Pyongyang from his Russian visit on Saturday or Sunday.

The South Korean delegation met Friday and decided after much dispute to stick to its initial plan, despite the imbroglio over the disobedience of some of its members, and stay in the North until next Tuesday to tour around Pyongyang and Mount Paektu.

Some 100 members of the 311-strong delegation participated in events held at the "Monument to the Three Charters of National Reunification" Wednesday and Thursday in violation of instructions from the South Korean government, which claims the monument presents a North Korean vision of reunification that the South disagrees with.

Should Chairman Kim meet the South Koreans and take the occasion to elaborate on his vision of reunification by federation, critics forecast further discord within the South Korean delegation and continued deadlock in dialogue between the two governments.

Other analysts said the dinner is unlikely, given that Mr. Kim rarely participates in official meetings.

Noteworthy at the two-day affair was the reticence of Lim Su-kyong, who did not participate at events held at the monument, perhaps disappointing expectations of the North Korean government, which had welcomed her with open arms in 1989, when she illegally went to Pyongyang to participate in the World Festival of Youth and Students.

"As people working for reunification, we should not portray a divided image," she said, explaining her reasons for having followed South Korean government instructions.

In Seoul, the South Korean government started reviewing judicial proceedings for those who participated in the opening and closing ceremonies at the controversial monument in Pyongyang.

"We will take appropriate measures after having investigated the matter once the delegation returns," a high-ranking government official said Friday.

The government is said to be investigating whether some delegates violated the National Security Law and the law governing inter-Korean exchanges.

The opposition Grand National Party and the government's coalition partner, the United Liberal Democrats, held the government responsible for the turmoil. Chang Kwang-keun, vice-spokesman of the Grand National Party berated the incident as "a show of mania" and said Unification Minister Lim Dong-won should be immediately replaced.

by Oh Young-hwan