Mandela backs Kim`s inter-Korean reconciliation policy

In a joint press conference at the end of their talks at Cheong Wa Dae Monday, President Kim Dae-Jung and visiting former South African president Nelson Mandela announced a six-point ``Message for Global Peace and Prosperity`` in which the two Nobel Peace Prize winners pledged to promote global peace, democracy, and human rights and fight world poverty.

Kim and Mandela both led pro-democracy movements and championed the expansion of human rights, became presidents and won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Following his one-on-one meeting with Mandela, Kim held an unusual joint press conference and accorded the South African leader state guest-level treatment, hosting a dinner in his honor at Cheong Wa Dae. The dinner was attended by Prime Minister Lee Han-Dong, Han Wan-Sang, vice premier for education and human resources development, and some 1,000 other dignitaries.

During talks with the president, Mandela reaffirmed his full support for Kim`s engagement policy with North Korea, saying that his initiatives were contributing to inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation as well as peace efforts in Northeast Asia.

During the meeting, Mandela advocated creating a peace park in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and Kim responded that he would convey Mandela`s overture to the North Korean side. Kim noted that efforts toward this end are already underway, adding that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was asked to designate the DMZ as an environmental preservation area.

Yun Seung-Mo ysmo@donga.com