Korea Summit Awaits Basic Accord
North Korean President Kim Il Sung said Thursday that he hopes to meet “at an early date” with South Korean President Roh Tae Woo, but he said the two prime ministers must first work out a basic agreement.
Kim’s statement capped a second round of talks between South Korean Prime Minister Kang Young Hoon and his counterpart, Yon Hyong Muk, which failed to produce any agreement except to meet again for a third round in Seoul on Dec. 11-14. The first talks took place last month in Seoul.
Spokesmen for both sides said some progress has been made in the talks just concluded in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.
Lim Dong Wan, spokesman for the south, said the two sides are narrowing their differences and that he is “optimistic that many issues will be resolved in the third round.”
Ahn Byong Su, spokesman for the North Koreans, said: “The south has promised to take a positive attitude. We hope an agreement will be signed at the third round.”
Kim, who has been the north’s leader since partition after World War II, and who ordered the invasion of South Korea in 1950, told Prime Minister Kang, “The talks proceeded smoothly, with your help.” He said he is pleased that a third round will be held.
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