President Roh’s Interview with BBC

President Roh Moo-hyun played down the prospect of an inter-Korean summit in a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair on December 2 (local time) in London.

In the press conference held on the second floor of the British Foreign Ministry building shortly after the summit talks between the two leaders, President Roh said, “I think there is a slim chance of a South-North summit, as the summit would not yield any remarkable results at a time when the United States and North Korea are engaged in tense negotiations in the six-party framework.”

Meanwhile, President Roh said in an interview with BBC on December 3 that the U.S. should rule out any possibility of force deployment such as a preemptive strike on the North. He also urged Pyongyang to come back to the negotiating table as soon as possible and to start reform and open the market by adopting a market economy.

Jung-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com sky3203@DONGA.COM