WORLD : Koreas Agree to Disagree
North and South Korea ended two rounds of talks between their prime ministers today, agreeing to disagree on most major issues but taking steps to resolve the question of U.N. membership and reuniting split families.
Officials from both Koreas basked in new-found cordiality and optimism as the highest-level inter-Korean talks ended in Seoul, the capital once virtually leveled by North Korean tanks and artillery.
“We could not reach any eye-opening agreements, but the fact we realized the talks themselves is an important achievement,” Seoul’s Unification Minister Hong Sung Chul told reporters.
Hong said both sides agreed to hold further talks on U.N. membership and efforts to reunite families split by the 1950-53 Korean War.
North Korean Prime Minister Yon Hyong-muk and his 89-member entourage leave for Pyongyang on Friday morning after a four-day visit to Seoul for meetings with his southern counterpart, Kang Young Hoon.
The North Koreans ended their last full day in Seoul with a joint toast to South Korean President Roh Tae Woo and North Korean leader Kim Il Sung at a farewell banquet.
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