The Pyongyang Summit in June 2000
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- Korean breakthrough
- Editorial by Bungo Osawa, Mainichi, 11
April 2000. In a move that could put an end to over half a
century of bitter enmity, North Korea and South Korea will
in June hold the first-ever summit between the leaders of the fierce
rivals. Officials across the globe hailed the decision,
which could eventually bring peace to two halves of a
divided nation that have formally been at war since
1950.
- Divergent Expectations
- By Doug Struck, Washington
Post, Thursday 18 May 2000. The wide gap in
expectations between North and South Korea as they head
into a historic summit next month. Those watching the
growing South Korean enthusiasm for the meeting, scheduled
for June 12 to 14 in Pyongyang, warn this gap could
endanger chances for its success.
- Korean summit undercuts ’Star
Wars’
- By Tim Wheeler, People's Weekly World, 12
June 2000. The June 12 meeting of the two Korean presidents
in Pyongyang was greeted by peace organizations as a step
toward ending the 50-year confrontation on the
peninsula. The meeting also countered Clinton administration
claims that the U.S. needs an anti-missile system to defend
against the DPRK, which it brands a
rogue
nation.
- The Korean summit
- Editorial, Mainichi Shimbun,
14 June 2000. On June 13, South Korean President Kim
Dae-jung was greeted by North Korean supreme leader Kim
Jong Il at the airport outside Pyongyang. The summit
meeting, the first since the Korean Peninsula was divided
55 years ago, got off to an unexpectedly warm start.
- Civic groups, labor unions pledge three
days without demonstrations
- Korea Herald, 14 June
2000. In a show of support for the inter-Korean summit,
civic groups and labor unions are refraining from holding
large-scale downtown protest rallies and news conferences
during the three-day meeting. Most veterans'
organizations, including the Korean Veterans Association,
also announced their intention to put off scheduled mass
gatherings until after the summit.
- World Smiles, Pentagon Uneasy at Korea
Breakthrough
- By Jim Lobe, IPS, 16 June 2000. Japanese Prime Minister
Yoshiro Mori compared it to the
collapse of the Berlin
Wall,
while the foreign ministry in Beijing called it
a major event of historic significance.
While all
of Asia and most of the world embraced this week's
summit, in Washington the reaction was decidedly less
enthusiastic.
- Koreas Stop Propaganda Broadcasts
- By Paul Shin, AP, 17 June 2000. Responding to an olive
branch from North Korea, South Korea ordered the
suspension Friday of all anti-Pyongyang propaganda
broadcasts and promised swift action on agreements reached
at their historic summit.
- Inter-Korean summit begins
- Mainichi, Wednesday 14 June
2000. South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean
leader Kim Jong Il put aside more than half a century of
bitter enmity Tuesday when they warmly shook as Kim
Dae-jung arrived for a monumental three-day round of
summit talks.