DPRK, ROK halt hostile propaganda
(Xinhua & Agencies)
Updated: 2004-06-15 23:48

A North Korean woman hugs a South Korean man as they carry soccer balls during recreation time at an event marking the fourth anniversary of the summit between the two Koreas in Inchon, west of Seoul Tuesday. About 100 North Koreans attended the inter-Korean rally Tuesday to mark the anniversary of the June 15 Joint Declaration made by former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang four years ago. [Reuters]

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) marked the fourth anniversary of an inter-Korean summit on Monday by halting propaganda broadcasts over loudspeakers along their border, a practice begun decades ago.

Military generals on both sides agreed on the halt during talks earlier this month. They also said they would dismantle large propaganda billboards by mid-August.

"Inter-Korean co-operation will be accelerated if the DPRK's nuclear issue is resolved, and we are preparing comprehensive and concrete plans for that, ROK President Roh Moo-hyun said in a speech marking the anniversary.

ROK's national Yonhap news agency quoted Roh as saying the ROK would cooperate closely with the DPRK to help it "build infrastructure and enhance industrial production capacity, which will develop the DPRK's economy in an epochal manner."

"We will also co-operate with neighboring countries to help the international community enhance economic co-operation with the DPRK," he said.

However, the reconciliation process remains vulnerable to tension over the nuclear standoff.

Washington demands a "complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantling" of the DPRK's nuclear weapons facilities. The DPRK says it's willing to make concessions on the nuclear issue in return for economic aid and security guarantees.

Another development on the fourth anniversary is that people from the ROK made their first day-trip to the DPRK yesterday, using private cars for an unprecedented drive through the fortified Demilitarised Zone to reach this scenic mountain resort.

ROK's Hyundai Asan company began cruises to Mount Kumgang on the peninsula's east coast in 1998 and followed that up with three-day land tours when a road opened last year.

The trip yesterday was different because visitors used private cars and returned the same day.

"As we begin the day tour to Mount Kumgang, we are again entering a new phase," Hyundai Asan president Kim Yoon-kyu said. "I wept when the cruise tour started. Just like that day and the day when the land tour started, I am overwhelmed by what this means."

He said the tours had helped improve ties between the two countries, although they have not made money. The day tours will aim to offer a choice to tourists and capture a market among visitors to the ROK's popular northeast coast region.

Talks set on June 23

The third round of six-party talks on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula will take place in Beijing on June 23-26, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said Tuesday.

The second meeting of the Working Group for the six-party talks is scheduled on June 21-22, Zhang said at a regular press briefing.

"China hopes that the parties concerned will show their utmost sincerity and flexibility for co-operation in the spirit of mutual respect and equal consultation so as to make headway in the third round of the six-party talks," Zhang said.

Next week's meeting will be held between the six countries: DPRK, ROK, China, the United States, Japan and Russia.

The US attitude toward the "reward for freeze" proposal, raised by the DPRK, would decide the outcome of next week's six-party talks on the DPRK's nuclear issue, a spokesman for the DPRK foreign ministry said yesterday.

The US attitude toward the "reward for freeze" -- meaning compensation in return for freezing its nuclear weapons development -- "would become a touchstone discerning the US real intention for the settlement of the nuclear issue," said the spokesman.

"The prospect of the settlement of the issue entirely depends on the Unite States," said the spokesman, adding that "nothing will be expected from the coming talks if the United States persistently insists that the DPRK should accept complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement."

"As working-level officials, we are neither pessimistic nor optimistic about the talks' prospects. We will just work hard in the negotiations to help the talks make progress," said Yoo Eyu-sang, deputy director-general of the ROK Foreign Ministry's task force on the nuclear issue.

He said the working-group discussions will set the topics for the main talks.

Zhang confirmed the Chinese delegation will not change.

Vice-Foreign Minister Wang Yi headed the Chinese delegation in previous two rounds of talks.

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