Gorbachev Wins More Agreements With South Korea

Mikhail S. Gorbachev succeeded in South Korea where he failed in Japan, winning agreements Saturday for economic cooperation and joint development of Soviet natural resources.

The Soviet leader also got President Roh Tae Woo to agree to study the possibility of a friendship treaty between the Soviet Union and South Korea, and Gorbachev promised to help efforts to reduce tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula.

“Our meeting has prepared the basis for ending Cold War confrontation and removing the danger of war and realizing North-South unification,” Roh said.

The result was in sharp contrast to Gorbachev’s four-day visit to Japan last week, when he failed to win any commitment for substantial loans or economic assistance.

Gorbachev and Roh agreed that the Soviet Union and South Korea should increase their business dealings. They also agreed to promote joint ventures to develop Soviet oil, copper and other natural resources.

More concretely, they reached agreement on South Korean participation in a multibillion-dollar project to exploit natural gas on Sakhalin Island, in the Soviet Far East.

Moscow and Seoul have had diplomatic relations for only seven months, and Gorbachev’s decision to visit South Korea rather than longtime ally North Korea initially stunned many observers and appeared to anger the Communist north.

It was the first trip by a Soviet leader to either Korea, and Moscow hopes it will lead to more Soviet influence in northeast Asia.

The Seoul government hopes improved ties with Moscow can provide a lever to get North Korea to negotiate over reducing tensions after four decades of bitter military and political confrontation. No peace treaty was ever signed after the 1950-53 Korean War, and 1.5 million soldiers still face each other.