YONHAP NEWS

(ROUNDUP) Roh begins Pyongyang visit with brief meeting with N. Korean leader

   PYONGYANG, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il at a warm welcome ceremony in the North's capital, Pyongyang, on Tuesday after walking across the heavily fortified border for the second-ever inter-Korean summit talks.

   Roh, who has vowed to put a Korean Peninsula peace arrangement formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War at the top of his summit agenda, became the first South Korean head of state to travel overland to North Korea amid an upbeat mood in negotiations for North Korea's nuclear disarmament and a permanent peace mechanism on the Korean Peninsula.

   Accompanied by First Lady Kwon Yang-suk and the South's 13 official delegates, Roh was personally greeted by Kim at the North's official welcoming ceremony held at the April 25 Hall of Culture in downtown Pyongyang.

   The dramatic meeting came as the North's reclusive leader made an unscheduled appearance at the ceremony, which was originally to be held at the Monument to Three Charters for National Reunification at the entrance of the capital city.

   Roh arrived at the People's Palace of Culture shortly before noon and was greeted by Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's titular head of state, who holds the post of chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly.

   Roh and Kim Yong-nam rode together in an open-roofed motorcade for about 20 minutes on the streets of Pyongyang, lined by hundreds of thousands of citizens, before arriving at the venue of the ceremony.

   Kim Jong-il, who looked a little older than in 2000 but still had a commanding appearance, showed up at the plaza in front of the April 25 Hall of Culture about five minutes ahead of Roh.

   Upon leaving the car, Roh shook hands with Kim Jong-il, and together they inspected an honor guard of the North Korean army, navy and air force while a military band played a solemn tune. Kim, dressed in his trademark military-style brown jumpsuit, also shook hands with first lady Kwon.

   Shaking hands with Roh, Kim Jong-il said, "Glad to meet you," to which Roh responded, "Glad to meet you." The North Korean leader had not moved an inch as Roh walked toward him at the beginning of the welcome ceremony.
The two leaders then walked to the podium in the center of the plaza and stood side by side, watching the North Korean honor guards march past. During the ceremony that lasted 12 minutes, the two leaders were not seen talking to each other.

   Throughout the ceremony, hundreds of civilians consisting of men in dark suits and women in colorful Korean traditional dresses waved bouquets of the national flower known as Kimjongilia as they chanted, "Long life! Long life! National Unification! National Unification!" Some women in the crowd jumped up and down, waving their flowers.

   North Korean officials told South Korean reporters that the use of an open motorcade by two Korean leaders is unprecedented.

   "It is very rare for a visiting foreign head of state to be welcomed with an open car parade. Today's parade was possible because of Roh's overland trip," a North Korean official said.

   After the leaders exchanged greetings with each other's key Cabinet ministers and high-ranking aides, Roh left for the Paekhwawon State Guest House, the official accommodation for the president and the first lady, amid a warm welcome from a large number of North Korean citizens lining the streets of Pyongyang.

   Upon his arrival, Roh was greeted by State Guesthouse Director Kim Kuk-phyong and received a bouquet from two women staff members. Roh briefly watched a recorded broadcast of his arrival in Pyongyang on a South Korean-made LCD TV.

   During his luncheon with the first lady and South Korean delegates at the Paekhwawon State Guest House, Roh praised the beautiful scenery he saw while traveling on the expressway between the North's border city of Kaesong and Pyongyang.

   After the luncheon, Roh visited the Mansudae Assembly Hall to hold talks with Kim Yong-nam. They discussed concrete measures to promote permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.

   Separately, First Lady Kwon met with North Korean women leaders at the state guest house and visited the Grand People's Study House, a state-run library.

   The South's 49 special delegates, mostly top executives of South Korean industrial conglomerates, visited an electronic library at Kim Chaek University of Technology.

   Roh also attended an official welcome dinner hosted by Kim Yong-nam at the Mokran Restaurant. Kim Jong-il didn't attend the dinner.

   On Wednesday, Roh and North Korean leader Kim are expected to hold two rounds of summit talks for in-depth discussions on inter-Korean co-prosperity, peace, reconciliation and unification. Specifically, they are expected to reach agreements on the South's participation in massive infrastructure and industrial development projects in the North. Depending on the results of the talks, the two leaders may adopt a joint statement.

   Earlier Tuesday, Roh and his official delegation left the presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, by car and briefly stopped near the inter-Korean border, formally called a military demarcation line (MDL) to walk across the border line shortly after 9 a.m.

   Roh's historic walk was broadcast live around the world.

   The MDL, which runs along the middle of the 4-kilometer-wide demilitarized zone, known as the DMZ, is also referred to as the armistice line, after the agreement that ended the Korean War.

   "This is an important day. I'm excited, but I have a heavy heart. I can see nothing around here. But this (invisible) border line has been a barrier separating the Korean people for the past half a century," said the president.

   "The Korean people have suffered too much pain because of this border line and development has been deterred. I'm now crossing this forbidden line. More people will follow me on this overland inter-Korean trip. Then this forbidden line will gradually disappear. The barrier will collapse," said Roh.

   The president then pledged to work harder to pave the way for inter-Korean peace and prosperity.

   "Let's remove the forbidden barrier and relieve the Korean people's pain. We have to move on the path to peace and co-prosperity."
At the MDL, Roh was greeted by Choe Sung-chol, deputy director of the United Front Department of North Korea's Workers' Party, and two other officials of the North's border town of Kaesong and nearby North Hwanghae Province. Choe is the deputy of Kim Yang-gon, who had held secret pre-summit negotiations with the chief of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, Kim Man-bok.

   Roh's predecessor, Kim Dae-Jung, travelled to the North by air for the first inter-Korean summit in June 2000.

   Before heading to Pyongyang, Roh spoke to the nation at Cheong Wa Dae, pledging to promote inter-Korean peace and economic cooperation. "There will be various items on the agenda for discussion, but, among other things, I intend to concentrate on making substantive and concrete progress that will bring about a peace settlement together with economic development."
(Joint press corps)
ycm@yna.co.kr
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