G-8 to support inter-Korean dialogue

The Group of Eight (G-8) summit now underway in Okinawa, Japan, adopted July 21 a special resolution supporting inter-Korean dialogue and the easing of tension on the Korean peninsula. It is rare for the G-8 summit to adopt such a resolution in regard to a specific nation.

Summit leaders, including U. S. President Bill Clinton, endorsed the special draft resolution on Korea, which was worked out at the G-8 foreign ministers` meeting held at Miyzaki, Japan July 12, after summit participants discussed global and regional issues in the afternoon.

In the resolution, the G-8 leaders welcomed the outcome of the Pyongyang summit, supported President Kim Dae-Jung`s "sunshine policy" of engagement towards North Korea, and expressed hopes that inter-Korean reconciliation would progress further.

As for North Korea, the summit leaders took issue in the resolution with Pyongyang`s nuclear and missile development programs, and called for the reclusive country to address human rights and security concerns in consideration of the delicate issue involving the North`s alleged abduction of Japanese citizens.

The references to North Korea had a very mild tone compared to those in a similar resolution adopted at last year`s G-8 summit in Germany on Pyongyang`s nuclear and missile problems.

Meanwhile, U. S. President Clinton and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, held a one-on-one meeting in the afternoon and exchanged views on the situation in North Korea and America`s National Missile Defense (NMD) system.

In their talks, Putin briefed Clinton on his summit with North Korean Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-Il and demanded that Clinton suspend the NMD program. The U. S. president replied that he would make a final decision on the matter in several weeks, after receiving a report from his defense minister.

The G-8 summit is scheduled to address the continuous progress of the information revolution July 22 and 23 and related electronic measures against international crime. The leaders will also discuss the effective utilization of the human genome, disarmament, conflict prevention and the reform of the U. S. Security Council.