N.K. to pursue full-scale reforms

The South Korean government has embarked on an intensive project to prepare diverse measures for an expected full-scale reform and openness in North Korea following its leader Kim Jong-Il¡¯s recent visit to China.

Seoul government officials observed Monday that the anticipated move by North Korea would greatly affect the relations between South and North Korea in the days to come.

In particular, the government believes that the return visit by Kim, whose official title is chairman of the National Defense Commission, to Seoul scheduled for March will provide an important turning point for the North¡¯s new policy for reform and openness.

The two sides are discussing the concrete date for Chairman Kim¡¯s coming to Seoul and the agenda items to be brought for the scheduled Seoul summit.

¡°Shanghai underwent a cataclysmic change,¡± a government official said, recalling Kim¡¯s remarks during his China visit. It means that Kim made it clear he would follow the path of Chinese-style reform and openness, impressed by the rapid development of Shanghai since he visited in 1983.

The North Korean Foreign Ministry also expressed that it would be positively improving foreign relations on the occasion of Kim¡¯s visit to China, noting the chairman¡¯s unofficial trip is an ¡°event to be recorded brightly in the history of North Korea-China relations.¡±

Vice Foreign Minister Kung Song-Ung said Sunday in an interview with the Central Broadcasting Station that his ministry officials heard the news of Chairman Kim¡¯s China visit through broadcasts.

¡°They are pledging to live up to the high will of the general (Chairman Kim) with loyalty by doing the projects better designed to develop the nation¡¯s relations with foreign countries more,¡± Kung said.

The government official paid attention to the fact that Chairman Kim highly evaluated ¡°China¡¯s

10th Five-Year Plan¡± for the modernization of socialism during his China visit this time.

The 10th Five-Year Plan, adopted in the fifth meeting of the 15th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in October last year, stressed the need for sustained reform and openness, called for restructuring of state-owned enterprises, and sought balanced development between cities and farming villages. It is expected to become an important benchmark for the future North Korean reform and openness policy.

North Korea is especially expected to suggest to South Korea dialogues of diverse types and cooperative relations this year at the faster speed than last year in a bid to secure a driving force for reform and openness, the official observed.

In order to facilitate the foundation for this goal, the North will come up with a more forward-looking attitude toward the issue of concluding a peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula, he added.