Kim and Clinton unveil Korean peace initiative
Kim and Clinton unveil Korean peace initiative
CHEJU ISLAND, South Korea (Agencies): U.S. President Bill
Clinton and South Korean leader Kim Young-sam yesterday called on
North Korea and China to join talks aimed at securing a permanent
peace on the tense Korean peninsula.
They announced the new peace initiative after meeting on the
South Korean resort island of Cheju to discuss Pyongyang's troop
incursions that flouted an armistice ending the 1950-53 Korean
War.
"It can begin as soon as possible and there are no
preconditions," Clinton told a joint news conference.
Both leaders said Pyongyang was not likely to jump at the
offer, which Seoul conveyed to Pyongyang last Sunday. Kim said he
had written a long letter to Chinese President Jiang Zemin.
"I would caution that we should not expect an immediate
positive response," Clinton said, adding North Korea's economic
woes may make it more difficult for Pyongyang to agree.
The four countries are parties to the armistice that ended the
Korean War. There has never been a formal peace treaty.
Clinton flatly ruled out bilateral talks with Pyongyang,
saying peace was the responsibility of Koreans alone.
"Time is on our side," said Kim. "I believe that eventually
North Korea will accept our proposal."
Three armed intrusions into the Joint Security Area of the
Demilitarized Zone this month were part of Pyongyang's efforts to
negotiate a peace pact directly with Washington, bypassing Seoul
and driving a wedge between the South and its leading ally.
Clinton said truce violations increased the danger of "an
accident, a mistake, or a miscalculation that could have grave
consequences".
China has so far declined to comment on the talks offer,
although U.S. officials said approaches to China through
diplomatic channels had produced "understanding".
Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto called the proposal
a "great initiative" and urged North Korea to respond positively.
There are fears that hunger and fuel shortages in North Korea
could press Pyongyang to desperate acts, although few people
believe the North is about to invade the South.
Meanwhile, Russia insisted yesterday that it should have a
role in negotiations to settle tensions on the Korean peninsula
following a U.S. proposal to hold four-way talks with North and
South Korea and China.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Demurin told a news
briefing Moscow was still pushing for a multilateral conference
and that Russia, once a close ally of the communist leadership in
Pyongyang, must play a role. It shares a frontier with North
Korea close to the far eastern city of Vladivostok.
"The Russian position is that the problems of the Korean
peninsula should be settled on a multilateral basis, taking
account of the interests of all the parties involved," Demurin
said. Narrower negotiations tended not to work, he said.
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