Kim Jung-il Gives His Response After Through Review on DJ`s Personal Letter

The unification, foreign relations and national security advisor to President Kim Dae-jung Lim Dong-won, who visited Pyongyang for three days in his capacity as the presidential envoy, returned to Seoul Jan. 29 without holding a meeting with the North Korean leader Kim Jung-il.

On his arrival at Seoul, he held a press conference and explained, “The North Korean leader Kim Jung-il thanked President Kim Dae-jung for his advice concerning ways of a peaceful resolution to the latest nuclear standoff and said if necessary, he will show the Pyongyang government`s position after a thorough review on President Kim`s advice.”

“Kim Yong-sun, Secretary of the Workers` Party, said that the Chairman of the North Korean Defense Committee Kim Jung-il could not meet with the South Korean envoy to the North because he left for an important field supervision in countryside and sent his verbal message to Lim,” presidential envoy Lim quoted his counterpart as telling.

Presidential envoy Lim Dong-won explained, “In his personal letter to the North Korean leader, President Kim urged the North to open dialogue first by taking actions to clear up the international community`s concerns over its enriched uranium-based nuclear development programs and withdraw its decision on pulling out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty(NPT). In addition, it is desirable for Pyongyang to undergo necessary processes to sign a nonaggression pact with the U.S. which it has long insisted on because it is not simple matter as the North thinks.”

On the necessary processes to solve the nuclear issue, the presidential envoy particularly added, “The processes include settlements to various international issues through multilateral consultations. Among them, the formation of a Five plus Five consultation body is also mentioned in the letter.”

He also said that during his three day visit, he conveyed verbal messages from the U.S. and Japan to North Korea. “The North asked the Seoul government to convey the North`s firm position that the U.S. should discuss the nuclear issue directly with the North,” he was quoted as saying.

However, the North reiterated its previous position on the issues that the North did not build nuclear weapons; the U.S. should discuss the nuclear issue with the North in a face to face meeting, if the U.S. wants verifications on the North`s possession of nuclear weapons, the North will accept the U.S. demand; the North`s move to reactivate the idled nuclear facilities in the North is to generate electricity.

In addition, presidential envoy Lim Dong-won said that he reached an agreement with the North on the completion of reconnecting cross-border railroads between Sinuiju and Seoul by the mid-February this year and overland route tour to the North`s Mt. Geumgang by the early February. Meanwhile, Lee Jong-seok, a member of the foreign relations and national security sub-committee in President-elect Roh`s transition team, who accompanied presidential envoy Lim, “Although we conveyed the incoming government`s fundamental position that the president-elect expects to meet with the North Korean leader after his inauguration slated for Feb.25, we did not propose to hold inter-Korean summit talks.”

Dong-Ki Sung esprit@donga.com