S-N Delegations at Odds over Joint Statement

South and North Korean participants at the 2002 Inter-Korean Joint Festival held the opening ceremony at Sheraton Walker Hill Hotel in downtown Seoul yesterday and released a joint statement. According to the statement, both sides agreed to hold the Youth Forum for National Unification on Sep. 7 and Sep. 8 and the Women`s Festival for National Unification on Sep. 12 and Sep. 13 in Mt Geumgang.

Delegations from the two Koreas held a number of events yesterday including art and photo exhibitions (at the Walker Hill Hotel) and performance by the North Korean artists (at the COEX auditorium).

In the statement, two delegations said, "The June 15 joint declaration is the only linchpin for the reconciliation, unity and ultimate unification of South and North Korea. We renewed out commitment to the full implementation of the joint declaration to shed light on the future of the divided nation under any circumstances."

But two sides were at odds on some issues such as writing down the schedule for the proposed Youth Forum in the joint statement. Due to this unexpected snag, the North Korean delegation arrived than one hour late at the opening ceremony, which led to the cancellation of some events.

An official of the authorities in charge of the festival said, "South and North Korea initially agreed not to mention the date for the Youth Forum in the joint statement, but North Korea unilaterally set the date, so we announced it."

But a government official said that the government would not allow pro-North groups to visit North Korea even if the Youth Forum is held.

Meanwhile, about 5000 members of the association of Korean universities celebrated the nation`s Liberation Day in Kunkook University.

Dong-Ki Sung esprit@donga.com