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I. United States1. ROK-DPRK Summit The DPRK's Korean Central News Agency released the full text of the June 15 agreement signed by DPRK leader Kim Jong-il and ROK President Kim Dae-jung ("TEXT OF NORTH-SOUTH KOREA JOINT DECLARATION," Tokyo, 6/15/00). "True to the noble will of all the fellow countrymen for the peaceful reunification of the country, Chairman Kim Jong-il of the National Defence Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and President Kim Dae-jung of the Republic of Korea had a historic meeting and summit in Pyongyang from June 13 to 15, 2000. The heads of the North and the South, considering that the recent meeting and summit, the first of their kind in history of division, are events of weighty importance in promoting mutual understanding, developing inter-Korean relations and achieving peaceful reunification, declare as follows: 1. The North and the South agreed to solve the question of the country's reunification independently by the concerted efforts of the Korean nation responsible for it. 2. The North and the South, recognizing that a proposal for federation of lower stage advanced by the North side and a proposal for confederation put forth by the South side for the reunification of the country have elements in common, agreed to work for the reunification in this direction in the future. 3. The North and the South agreed to settle humanitarian issues, including exchange of visiting groups of separated families and relatives and the issue of unconverted long-term prisoners, as early as possible on the occasion of August 15 this year. 4. The North and the South agreed to promote the balanced development of the national economy through economic cooperation and build mutual confidence by activating cooperation and exchanges in all fields, social, cultural, sports, public health, environmental and so on. 5. The North and the South agreed to hold dialogues between the authorities as soon as possible to implement the above-mentioned agreed points in the near future. President Kim Dae-jung cordially invited Chairman Kim Jong-il of the DPRK National Defence Commission to visit Seoul and Chairman Kim Jong-il agreed to visit Seoul at an appropriate time in the future." The Associated Press ("KOREAS DISCUSSED SECURITY AT SUMMIT," Seoul, 6/15/00) reported that ROK President Kim Dae-jung disclosed on Thursday that he had discussed sensitive security issues during the summit, including US troops stationed in the ROK and the DPRK's nuclear and missile programs. He said, "We talked about nuclear and missile issues. The issue of the US forces stationed in the South also cropped up." The Los Angeles Times (Sonni Efron and Mark Magnier, "KOREAN LEADERS PLEDGE STEPS TO REUNIFICATION," Seoul, 6/15/00) and The Washington Post (Doug Struck, "TWO KOREAS SIGN CONCILIATORY ACCORD," Seoul, 6/15/00) reported that Kim Jong-il said that he had watched television reports from the ROK about the summit. Kim stated, "I saw how excited the South Koreans were, especially those whose hometowns are in the North, and defectors from the North. I saw how many had tears in their eyes waiting for news about their hometowns." He joked about press descriptions of him as reclusive saying, "The fact is, I have made many secret trips to such countries as China and Indonesia. I have been here and there without people knowing." 2. Implementation of ROK-DPRK Agreement CNN ("SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT HAILS PACT WITH NORTH AS STARTING POINT," Seoul, 6/15/00) reported that ROK officials outlined plans for implementing the June 15 pact, including the creation of a military hotline and building a railway crossing at the nations' border. The ROK announced, "To prevent any unexpected military incident, we will push for the establishment of a direct military hotline." Regarding the reunification of separated families, the ROK announced, "The process should not be a one- time deal. Rather, it must be institutionalized so that ultimately, all separated family members will be reunited." Reuters "SOUTH KOREA CAUTIOUS ON REPORT OF POSSIBLE REPRESENTATIVE OFFICES," Pyongyang, 6/14/00) reported that an official ROK statement said, "Some reports that said the two Koreas have come close to an agreement on normalizing operations between their two liaison offices and the establishment of representative offices are not confirmed." ROK reports from Pyongyang said that the idea of representative offices was raised when Kim Dae-jung discussed ways off improving bilateral ties and easing tensions in talks with the DPRK's titular head, Kim Young- nam. The New York Times (Howard W. French, "KOREAS REACH ACCORD SEEKING RECONCILIATION AFTER 50 YEARS," Seoul, 6/15/00) reported that Leon V. Sigal, a DPRK expert at Columbia University, said that the symbolism in the June 15 pact is important. Sigal stated, "In societies as hierarchical as Korea, that counts for a lot. In the North, having Kim Jong-il sign his name to a communique like this makes it the equivalent of dogma." Kim Young-nam, the second-ranking figure in the DPRK, said in his reply to Kim Dae-jung's banquet toast, "History gives us opportunities only once. Reunification is not for the future but for the present." The ROK offered to speed delivery of 200,000 tons of fertilizer, and also reportedly offered to provide US$450 million in economic assistance. 3. ROK Reactions to Summit Reuters (Alan Wheatley, "S.KOREA'S KIM RETURNS TO BIG WELCOME AFTER SUMMIT," Seoul, 6/15/00) reported that tens of thousands of people lined the streets of Seoul, cheering and waving flags, to welcome ROK President Kim Dae-jung as he returned home after the three-day inter-Korean summit. Banners in Seoul read, "Seoul- Pyongyang taxi fare -- 80,000 won (US$72)," and, "Thank you, President Kim, for making the reunion of separated families a reality." DPRK President Kim Jong-il gave Kim Dae-jung a farewell hug at the foot of his plane. ROK reporters who accompanied Kim Dae-jung to the DPRK were barred from leaving their hotel and foreign reporters were excluded from the press parry altogether. An official ROK government note said, "In accordance with this spirit, the South and North will implement measures such as the opening of direct military hotlines, the suspension of mutual denunciation and acts of destruction and insurrection." Reuters ("SOUTH KOREA EDITORIALS SAY IT'S UP TO NORTH TO SEEK CHANGE," Seoul, 6/14/00) reported that the ROK newspaper Chosun Ilbo devoted an entire page to photos of the summit and acknowledged the DPRK President Kim Jong-il appeared "a normal and competent head-of-state." An editorial in the paper said, "Because North Korea has focused on the building of its military power, now North Koreans are starving. North Korea should turn their interests to economic development and in order for that to happen, peace on the peninsula is a precondition. The success of the summit depends on North Korea's attitude regarding its survival and its openness." The Hankook Ilbo newspaper's editorial said, "A political system that fails to feed its people cannot exist anymore. It depends on the will of the leadership to relieve famine and now is the chance for North Korea." The Hankyoreh newspaper hailed the summit as an historic step, and said, "Citizens in Seoul seem to have had a change of heart about Kim [Jong-il] after seeing him on TV with his bright smile and confident gestures guiding Kim Dae-jung." 4. US Reactions to Summit The Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State ("STATE DEPARTMENT NOON BRIEFING, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 2000," 6/15/00) reported that US State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher welcomed the results of the ROK-DPRK summit. Boucher stated, "We do recognize the seriousness with which they dealt with the issues and the importance of the issues and the possible benefits of their cooperation, so we generally welcome things without being able to comment on the specifics at this point." He added, "Does that change plans for missile defense? No, it doesn't because there are other technologies, capabilities, developments, that the United States needs to be able to deal with. We think there is a threat to the United States that will come up in coming years, and we need to be able to deal with that. I don't think we see in this summit in particular the seeds of any changes that would change the possible threat that we might face." Regarding the last US visit to the underground DPRK site, he said, "We did visit again the suspect site, and we found that it was not being used for any purposes that we had worried about; that the situation was the same as when we'd seen it before." He said he could not speculate on any changes for the US forces in the ROK. The Office of International Information Programs, US Department of State ("WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 2000," 6/15/00) reported that US White House press secretary Joe Lockhart said that it is important that a process comes out of the ROK-DPRK summit to implement the agreements reached. Boucher stated, "It's important that they keep this process going and that they have some mechanism for continuing to build on the success of the last two days. We've had some false starts before, and certainly it's our hope that they can find some way to build on the success of the last two days." Regarding the lifting of US sanctions against the DPRK, he stated, "The timetable is independent of anything that is going on or is not going on within the Peninsula. We have to work through the process and the rule to do this." 5. Other Reactions to Summit CNN ("PRAISE AND GUARDED HOPE FOR KOREAS FROM AROUND THE WORLD," 6/15/00), Reuters (Alan Wheatley, "S.KOREA'S KIM RETURNS TO BIG WELCOME AFTER SUMMIT," Seoul, 6/15/00), and CNN ("SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT HAILS PACT WITH NORTH AS STARTING POINT," Seoul, 6/15/00) reported that world opinion on the summit was largely positive. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said, "As in the case of the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the agreement constitutes a major change toward peace." Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono added, "In the meantime, we hope that it will have a favorable effect on normalization of talks between Japan and North Korea." PRC Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao said, "China heartily rejoices at the success of the summit and wishes to express its congratulations." He added, "We hope the two sides will continually enhance mutual respect in a spirit of compromise and cooperation, and strengthen exchanges and cooperation in every field in order to create favorable conditions to realize final, peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula." US President Bill Clinton said, "It's just the first step. But it's clearly a move in the right direction and everyone else in the world should be encouraged by this." US Ambassador to the ROK Stephen Bosworth stated, "This is clearly the best hope we have had for reconciliation and eventual reunification. A lot of work remains to be done, but I think the personal relationship which Kim and Kim seem to have established between them is a very positive development." Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Losukov said, "This is a very important first step. Russia is prepared to make a strong contribution to the solution of the Korean problem and to aid further inter-Korean dialogue." The Associated Press ("KOREAN COMMUNITY WARY OF AGREEMENT," Los Angeles, 6/15/00) reported that the US Korean community were unsure how significance to put on the inter-Korean summit. Kum Cho, 33, a lighting store clerk, said, "Kim Jong Il has changed his mind so many times. He might change his mind again." Chun Hwan-roh, who said that he fled to the south in 1947 but his parents were killed by the DPRK government and that his five older brothers were taken to prison camps, said that he had many doubts because past agreements have been broken. Others feared reunification efforts could divide the immigrant community. 6. US Sanctions on DPRK The New York Times (David E. Sanger, "U.S. PREPARES TO REMOVE ITS SANCTIONS ON THE NORTH," Washington, 6/14/00) reported that US administration officials said that they would announce within a week the lifting of economic sanctions against the DPRK. 7. US Food Aid to DPRK The Office of International Information Programs, US Department of State ("USDA TO DONATE 50,000 TONS OF WHEAT TO NORTH KOREA," 6/15/00) reported that the US Department of Agriculture announced on June 15 that it will donate 50,000 metric tons of wheat to the World Food Program's emergency feeding efforts in the DPRK. US Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said, "The surplus US wheat will be used to help feed tens of thousands of undernourished children, new mothers, and other people in need." This donation, valued at an estimated US$12.8 million, will be provided under the USDA's Section 416(b) program. During fiscal 1999 food aid programs, the USDA provided more than 550,000 metric tons of wheat, flour, corn, and nonfat dry milk as part of U.S. food assistance to support World Food Program feeding operations in the DPRK. 8. ROK-DPRK Economic Cooperation The Associated Press (Jean H. Lee, "NORTH, SOUTH KOREA BUSINESSES MEET," Seoul, 6/15/00) reported that the ROK's nine-member business delegation, led by officials from the ROK's four largest conglomerates, presented their wishes for economic cooperation to six representatives from the DPRK. The list included a Joint Economic Committee to establish investment guarantees, intellectual property protections, and taxation and payment agreements. Jo Dong-ho, director of DPRK economic studies at the Korea Development Institute, stated, "Without an accord protecting investment, avoiding double taxation and opening railways or highways, private firms will hesitate to enter the North." 9. DPRK Coverage of Summit The New York Times (Howard W. French, "FOR THE SOUTH, A TV STUNNER; IN THE NORTH, FANFARE IS LACKING," Seoul, 6/15/00) reported that a former high-ranking ROK official said that the the DPRK maintained tight control over what its people were allowed to hear about the summit. Kwan Okie, a former ROK newspaper editor, said, "Everything about the way this has been covered has been controlled by the North Korean authorities. In the Western sense, there has been no coverage at all. Sure, the ride together was history. But looked at another way, it was almost a hostage taking." The article added that for the DPRK, a lesson of the Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989, when student demonstrators invoked the name of the reformist Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, seems to be that the people must not be allowed to have competing heroes. 10. DPRK Foreign Debt Dow Jones Newswires (Paul Hannon, "NORTH KOREAN DEBT HOLDERS ARE BETTING ON REUNIFICATION," London, 6/15/00) reported that Jerome Booth, head of research at Ashmore Investment Management Ltd., a fund management company that specializes in emerging-markets debt, said that he has not seen an impact from the summit agreement on the DPRK's foreign debt. He added, "But in the longer term, unification means possible repayment at par." Since the default in 1987, some investors have bought the debt from the commercial banks that were the original lenders, betting that the ROK would assume responsibility for repaying the loans after reunification. One possible way of doing that would be to introduce debt-for-equity swaps, under which ROK companies could buy DPRK debt on the secondary market and exchange it for equity in DPRK companies. 11. US Troops in ROK The Associated Press ("SOUTH KOREA ENVOY SEES NO EARLY WITHDRAWAL OF US TROOPS," Washington, 6/15/00) reported that ROK Ambassador to the US Lee Hong-koo said that any discussion of the withdrawal of US soldiers in the ROK is "a long way off." Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Henry H. Shelton said, "I think that at this point we should wait and see what actually comes officially out of the talks today. There's been no mention to my knowledge made on either side of any troop reductions." 12. US Missile Defense The Los Angeles Times (Tyler Marshall, "SUMMIT SHOOTS A HOLE IN MISSILE DEFENSE ARGUMENT," Washington, 6/14/00) reported that Jon Wolfsthal, an arms control specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that the ROK-DPRK summit hurts the US argument for missile defense. Wolfstahl stated, "It becomes much harder now to point to [DPRK leader Kim Jong-il] as an irrational nut and say that's why we need a national missile defense right now. A lot of politicians and people in the military are very concerned about North Korea, and there is good reason for this. But if the threat associated with his behavior diminishes, then the zeal and pressure for national missile defense will diminish too." James R. Lilley, former U.S. ambassador to the ROK and the PRC, said, "We don't want to upset the Chinese, so everyone talks about North Korea. It's not going to be as easy to do that as it has been." 13. PRC Military Exercises The Associated Press ("CHINA CONDUCTING MILITARY EXERCISES," Taipei, 6/15/00) reported that Taiwanese defense officials said that the PRC began conducting live-fire military exercises early on June 15 in waters across from Taiwan, but that they saw no immediate security threat. The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said that the drills will go on for three days in waters off Fujian Province on the southeastern mainland coast, about 186 miles west of northern Taiwan, and will be monitored carefully by Taiwan's military. 14. US-Taiwan Talks The Associated Press (Pauline Jelinek, "TAIWAN PROMOTES TALKS WITH CHINA ," Washington, 6/15/00) reported that in a visit to the US, Vice Chairman of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council Lin Chong-Pin said, "I especially would like to see that international friends ... make a contribution to the resumption of cross-strait dialogue." Council chief Tsai Ing-wen has said that she would welcome Washington's help as "a facilitator" in starting talks between Taiwan and the PRC, but does not want the US to mediate. Bi-khim Hsiao, a delegation member from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, said, "We are here to exchange views and we would like to hear the Americans' response to recent changes in Taiwan. We are in the process of alleviating some of the hostilities and we are always open and willing to engage in dialogue. We are waiting to hear from the other side." Reuters ("CHINA ANGERED BY U.S. OFFICIAL'S TAIWAN VISIT," Beijing, 6/13/00) reported that PRC Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao demanded that the US halt "any exchange or contact of an official nature with Taiwan." US Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater is to attend the June 14-15 joint conference of the Taiwan-US and US-Taiwan Business Council, continuing an eight- year tradition in which a US cabinet-level official has participated in the conference. 1. Joint Declaration The Korea Herald ("TWO KOREAS SIGN LANDMARK ACCORD," Pyongyang, 06/15/00), Joongang Ilbo ("INTER-KOREA SUMMIT PRODUCES AGREEMENT AT LAST," Pyongyang, 06/14/00), and Chosun Ilbo ("PYONGYANG JOINT DECLARATION SIGNED," Pyongyang, 06/15/00) reported that ROK President Kim Dae-jung and the DPRK leader Kim Jong-il signed a Joint Declaration at the Baekhwawon Guesthouse in Pyongyang on Wednesday night. Kim Jong-il also accepted Kim Dae-jung's invitation to visit Seoul at an "appropriate" time. The signing of the Joint Declaration came at 11:20 pm, after seven hours of closed-door negotiation and fine-tuning with intermission and dinner at the state guesthouse. The two leaders agreed, in principle, on the method of reunification of the divided peninsula and promised to allow reunions of families separated by the closed border. They also agreed to continue dialogue between the authorities of two sides and to expand cooperation and exchange in the areas of economic, social and culture. Reunions of displaced families are expected to take place around August 15, the 55th anniversary of liberation of Korea from Japanese occupation. The Declaration, however, did not to mention other issues, such as the presence of US troops in the ROK and DPRK's long-range and nuclear missile programs. President Kim was scheduled to return to Seoul Thursday afternoon. Joongang Ilbo ("INTER-KOREA SUMMIT PRODUCES AGREEMENT AT LAST," Pyongyang, 06/14/00) reported that Park Joon-young, ROK Chong Wa Dae spokesman, via a briefing in the Baekhwawon Guesthouse, said that after the summit "we took a break at 5:20 p.m. - 2 hours and 20 minutes after the start of the meeting and then reconvened at 6:05 p.m., 45 minutes later. It was 6:50 pm. by the time the two summits had wrapped up their historic agreement." Park stated, "President Kim and North Korean Chairman Kim agreed on many aspects of the issues." The agreement was framed by delegations from both sides and was reviewed by the both leaders. The Korea Times (Chong Wa Dae Press Corps, "TWO KOREAS SIGN ACCORD TO PROMOTE PEACE," Pyongyang, 06/15/00) reported that three ROK deputies including Lim Dong-won, chief architect of President Kim's Sunshine Policy of engaging DPRK and director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), top security advisor Hwang Won-tak and chief economic secretary Lee Ki-ho, attended the summit. Kim Yong-sun, chairman of the DPRK Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, a quasi-government organization in charge of economic cooperation with the ROK, was the sole deputy from the DPRK. Joongang Ilbo ("FULL TRANSCRIPT OF THE SOUTH-NORTH JOINT DECLARATION," Pyongyang, 06/15/00), and Chosun Ilbo ("PYONGYANG JOINT DECLARATION SIGNED," Pyongyang, 06/15/00) carried the full text of the Joint Declaration: "In accordance with the noble will of the entire people yearning for the peaceful reunification of the nation, President Kim Dae-jung of the Republic of Korea and National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea held a historic meeting and summit talks in Pyongyang from June 13 to June 15, 2000. The leaders of the South and the North, evaluating that the meeting and the summit talks were of important significance in promoting mutual understanding, developing South-North relations and realizing peaceful reunification, declared as follows: 1. The South and the North have agreed to resolve the question of reunification independently and through the joint efforts of the Korean people. 2. For the achievement of reunification, we have agreed that there is a common element in the South's proposal for a confederation and the North's proposal for a loose form of federation.* The South and the North agreed to promote reunification through these frameworks. 3. The South and the North have agreed to promptly resolve humanitarian issues such as exchange visits by separated family members and relatives on the occasion of the Aug. 15 National Liberation Day and the question of unswerving Communists serving prison sentences in the South. 4. The South and the North have agreed to consolidate mutual trust by promoting balanced development of the national economy through economic cooperation and stimulating cooperation and exchanges in all fields including the social, cultural, sports, health, and environmental. 5. The South and the North have agreed to hold dialogues between relevant authorities in the near future to implement the above agreements expeditiously. President Kim Dae-jung cordially invited National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il to visit Seoul, and Chairman Kim Jong-il will visit Seoul at an appropriate time." *(This terminology has yet to be endorsed by the DPRK authorities). 2. ROK Students' Reaction to Joint Declaration The Korea Herald (Kim Ji-soo, "UNIVERSITIES PUSHING PLANS FOR INTER-KOREAN STUDENT EXCHANGES," Seoul, 06/15/00) reported that ROK college students are excited by the talk of the enhanced prospects for inter-Korean reconciliation. The student council at Kyungpook National University said yesterdaythat it would recruit volunteers for a voluntary project in August. The council said that it would try to enlist the support of "Dr. Corn" Kim Soon-kwon, a Kyungpook University professor who heads a government project to provide bio-engineered "super corn" seeds to rural DPRK communities. The student council at Chonnam National University in Kwangju said it was working out plans for a "field trip" to the DPRK August 17-25. Student leaders at Chosun University, also in Kwangju, said that they were seeking to invite DPRK collegians for a unification soccer tournament during its upcoming school festival in September. All of these events would require the ROK Unification Ministry's approval. Students at these schools voiced their determination to push ahead with their plans, but university officials said they could not be sure whether their efforts would bear fruit. School authorities called on the students to exercise caution, warning that promoting student exchanges "too hastily" might hamper efforts to improve inter-Korean relations. 3. DPRK Cultural Influence on ROK Chosun Ilbo (Park Sunny, "NORTH KOREAN FASHION EXPECTED TO HIT SEOUL," Seoul, 06/14/00) reported that ROK residents are experiencing a form of "culture shock," as they saw images of the summit featuring the rustic, florid colors and peculiar gestures commonly found in television programs of the 1960s and 70s. Although DPRK fashion is not an object of either ridicule or envy, the jolt of unfamiliarity felt by the younger generation is expected to fuel imitations, which in turn will lead to a wave of DPRK culture in the ROK culture industry. However, some observers point to the characteristics of a capitalist society where new fads spread like fire and then are easily forgotten when the next new thing comes along, and forecast that the sudden popularity of DPRK fashion soon fade.
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