2 Koreas Discuss Trade, Joint Ventures; No Progress Reported

Delegates from South and North Korea ended a second round of economic talks on Friday with no progress reported on proposals for railway links, trade and joint ventures between the two countries.

North Korea did not “seem to be interested in undertaking any concrete steps to start economic cooperation,” Kim Ki Hwan, the chief South Korean negotiator, told a news conference after the two-hour session.

The talks, held after a six-month recess, are to resume June 20 in this village in the demilitarized zone that has separated North from South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

Economic talks between the two sides opened Nov. 15 at the request of the south. North Korea had delayed engaging in a second session before Friday, partly in protest of military training exercises held by South Korea and the United States.

Friday’s meeting centered on North Korea’s proposal for a joint committee of high-ranking government officials to supervise joint business ventures and other economic exchanges.

Joint Ventures Stressed

Li Sung Rok, the chief North Korean delegate, called for a North-South Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation to be headed by deputy prime ministers from both sides and including other Cabinet ministers or vice ministers.

He said the commission should emphasize development of joint ventures based on the principles of national unification, independence, peaceful reunification and “great national unity.”

Kim said Li’s proposal would be studied, but told the news conference the proposal seemed designed to block or delay discussions. He had suggested in November that trade take priority over joint ventures, arguing that it would be more easily implemented.

Some observers in Seoul interpreted the injection of the principle of unity as a political move to seek the pullout of the 39,000 U.S. troops based in South Korea.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said in its report of the meeting that “any talks in the framework of North-South dialogue in our divided country should be a reunification-oriented one serving the cause of reunification.”

Both sides renewed their bids for resuming railway links.