Joint Declaration With Pyongyang On Terror Sought

President Kim Dae-jung said Thursday that it would be meaningful to announce a joint declaration opposing terrorism when ministers from North and South Korea meet on Saturday.

A Blue House official said he hoped such a declaration would help North Korea regain the trust of the United States. North Korea remains on the U.S. State Department's list of "rogue states" believed to harbor or assist terrorists.

The South Korean government is concerned that because of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, the United States may become hawkish toward the rogue states, including North Korea, instead of engaging in dialogue. If so, officials believe, inter-Korean relations would suffer.

While North Korea and the United States agreed on a joint statement on international terrorism in October last year, the two sides still have not been able to settle their differences over what to do with the nine members of the Japanese terror group called Red Army Faction, who hijacked a Japanese airplane and sought refuge in Pyongyang in 1970.

As long as North Korea remains on the list of rogue states, it cannot receive aid from international financial institutions and it faces restrictions in international trade.

In an unprecedented move, North Korea's Central News Agency quoted the Foreign Ministry spokesman as denouncing terrorism. "The large-scale attacks on the United States caught the international community by great surprise," the spokesman reportedly said.

"The regrettable and tragic incident reminds once again of the gravity of terrorism," the report went on to say. "As a UN member, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is opposed to all forms of terrorism and any support to it whatever, and this stance will remain unchanged."

The National Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution denouncing the attacks. "Terrorist attacks are non-humanitarian and cannot be justified under any circumstances," the resolution said. The lawmakers called on the government to provide all support necessary to the United States government and its people as befits an ally.

They also emphasized the need to heighten security measures and anti-terrorism efforts in Korea and to minimize the impact the attacks would have on the Korean economy.

Deputy Prime Minister Jin Nyum told the Assembly that the government is devising a stabilization plan in expectation of currency fluctuation and that the Bank of Korea would provide enough liquidity to stave off a credit crunch.

As for the fifth North-South ministerial talks scheduled for Saturday, the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said it would do its best, and already has, to implement the June 15 North-South joint declaration of last year.

The government declared Friday a day of mourning for victims of the terrorist attacks on the United States. Government offices, schools and Korean embassies abroad will fly flags at half-staff and a moment of silence will be observed at 10 a.m. for one minute.

President Kim Dae-jung has canceled his visit to the United Nations headquarters in New York next week.

by Kim Jin-kook