S-N leaders' meeting in N.Y. abortive

With the U.N. Millennium Summit starting in New York, the sudden cancellation by Kim Yong-Nam, chairman of the Presidium of the North`s Supreme People`s Assembly, on September 6 effectively has made the planned meeting with South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung abortive. The official announcement calling off his attendance to the heads of state summit is expected to have negative diplomatic repercussions.

¡°The North`s titular leader Kim Young-Nam, during his boarding process onto the American Airline flight on September4 heading for U.S. at Frankfurt Airport, canceled his flight to New York after a meticulous security inspection,¡± a high-ranking official in the government said.

"The cancellation for the attendance at the Heads of States Summit is unavoidable due to the unfair obstructive action of the U.S.," said the North`s Deputy Foreign Minister Choi Su-Hon in the delegation to Germany held a press conference about 11 a.m. September 4 at the Frankfurt Sheraton Hotel where the delegation had been staying. "When our delegation complained of the excessive body search by the airport authorities, the security agents at the airports stated that all persons regardless of governmental or social positions from the eight designated `rogue states` require thorough body searches. This shouldn`t be for foreign diplomats with an invitation by the U.S."

The deputy minister did not criticize South Korea, though.

"The U.S. must make a formal apology." Choi said. "This is a problem with the U.S. and will not affect the relationship with South Korea."

The delegation of the North`s titular leader Kim Young-Nam returned to Beijing early in the morning of September 6.

Rather than direct contact, the news of the cancellation reached President Kim during his flight to New York through a U.N. representative.

"We will keep a close tab on further developments prior to making a detailed statement concerning our position," an official in the South Korean government said.

Meanwhile, President Kim and First Lady Lee Hee-Ho arrived in New York via a Korean Air flight, which departed September5. President Kim is expected to request the support and cooperation of the international community concerning the recent improvement of the inter-Korean relationship through a key-note address titled, "Inter-Korean Summit and the Peace Settlement in the Peninsula."