Pyongyang and Seoul announced yesterday that their top leaders will hold the second-ever summit late this month, reprising the historic 2000 meeting that launched unprecedented reconciliation between the two sides.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong-il and Republic of Korea (ROK) President Roh Moo-hyun will meet on August 28 to 30 in Pyongyang.
"It will help inter-Korean relations and provide fresh momentum to improve the DPRK's international relations," Roh was quoted by a spokesman as saying, adding it would give impetus to the denuclearization efforts.
ROK's presidential office also said in a statement that the summit will contribute to substantially opening the era of peace and prosperity between the two Koreas.
The DPRK released a statement confirming an agreement on the summit singed on Sunday between the heads of the two countries' intelligence agencies, saying the meeting will be of weighty significance in opening a new phase of peace on the Korean peninsula.
Chinese Foreign Ministry welcomed the planned summit immediately, hoping it would lead to positive results.
"China has always been supporting anything that is conducive to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao.
He said being the closer neighbor of the Korean Peninsula, China has consistently supported the north and south side of the peninsula improving relationship through dialogue.
"This suits the fundamental interests of the 70 million people on the peninsula, and also benefits regional peace and stability," Liu said.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Joanne Moore also hailed the announcement, saying they have long welcomed and supported such dialogue and hope this meeting will help promote peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and fulfilling the goals of the six-party talks.
Japan, which has tense relations with the DPRK, also voiced hope that the summit will move forward to ease the tension on the peninsula.
At the only other inter-Korean summit, Kim met then-ROK President Kim Dae-jung in June 2000, also in Pyongyang
The two Koreas remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty, but the 2000 meeting led them to embark on economic cooperation projects and hold reunions of families split by their shared border.
Kim Dae-jung won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to engage the DPRK through his so-called sunshine policy.
Analyst says the time is ripe for the second meeting due to Pyongyang's progress in abandoning its nuclear weapons programs including shutting down its Yongbyon nuclear facility and the Roh's pressure in the upcoming presidential election.
Piao Jianyi, a senior researcher with Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the summit would reiterate Korean's determination to realize the peaceful unification by themselves and would help to improve the relations between the two Koreas, including in the establishment of a peace treaty on the peninsula.
The two sides will work out the agenda for the summit this month in meetings at the DPRK's border city of Kaesong, site of a joint industrial park that is one of the most tangible achievements from the 2000 meeting.
"How to achieve progress in resolving the nuclear standoff and establish a peace mechanism on the Korean Peninsula as well as a multi-lateral security mechanism in Northeast Asia will also high on the agenda of the meeting," Piao said.
Delegates from the six relevant parties concluded a two-day of discussions at the peace village of Panmunjom yesterday on arrangements for providing energy aid to Pyongyang in exchange for its denuclearization efforts.
Source: Agencies - China Daily
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