Leaders inject new vigor into European-Asian ties

Leaders inject new vigor into European-Asian ties

SEOUL (AP): European and Asian leaders on Saturday said they
had injected new vigor into their partnership at a summit where
the main message was one of support for reconciliation between
North and South Korea.

"We have gone up to a higher level. Asia and Europe are now
linked together. We have become partners in the fullest sense,"
South Korea President Kim Dae-jung said in wrapping up the two-
day meeting.

The 25 national leaders, representing two-fifths of the
world's population, adopted a document setting out sweeping plans
for cooperation on issues ranging from fighting international
prostitution rings to developing e-commerce and containing the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

However it was the improving relations between the two Koreas
that took center stage.

Britain, Germany, Spain and Belgium announced they would join
the growing list of western nations opening diplomatic relations
with the isolated communist state.

Their action caused a glitch in European unity, as France
reacted cautiously to the lack of coordination and said it was
not going to follow the road to formal relations with Pyongyang.

"France's future relations with North Korea will depend on our
concerns about non-proliferation and human rights," President
Jacques Chirac told a news conference.

All the leaders gave a ringing endorsement of Kim's Nobel
Peace Prize-winning outreach policy to the North and to U.S.
efforts to build bridges with its Korean War foe, including
Monday's planned visit to North Korea by Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright.

Leaders agreed on a raft of economic issues. The 15 EU and 10
Asian nations called for an early relaunch of a new round of
world trade talks, agreed to replenish a US$43 million fund to
help Asia overcome the aftermath of the 1997 crisis, and urged a
speedy resolution of China's tortuous negotiations on joining the
World Trade Organization.

They also plan to develop high-speed communication links
between Asia and Europe in what Kim called a "cyber silk road."

The Seoul summit is the third Asia-Europe Meeting, or ASEM, at
this level since the two regional groupings agreed in 1996 to get
their leaders together every two years and hold regular
ministerial talks.

Both sides see the link as a counterbalance to the closer
relationship both have with the United States.

"The destiny of the world is largely controlled by the Asia-
Europe-United states triangle," Chirac said. "The weak link was
Europe-Asia, and that's exactly what we want to strengthen."

Leaders voiced support for Indonesian President Abdurrahman
Wahid who marked his first year in office Friday. He is
struggling with separatist, ethnic and sectarian unrest in
several provinces, a recalcitrant military and continued dire
economic straits.

"Indonesia has paid a very high price for democracy. The
government is doing its best (but) the whole international
community is concerned," said Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed
Hamid Albar.

Leaders said the Seoul summit put the partnership back on
track after two years of drift since the last summit. Asian
nations have concentrated on restoring their economies after the
1997 crash, and Europe has been wrestled with war in the Balkans,
the launch of the euro currency and plans to expand the EU into
the old East bloc.

Largely because of Chinese concerns, the summit avoided some
of the more touchy issues.

References linking closer ties to North Korea to removal of
weapons of mass destruction were taken out of the summit
statement at China's request. Talk of a greater security role for
Europe in Asia were carefully worded to suit Chinese
sensitivities over Taiwan, and declarations of support for human
rights were kept vague enough to pass Beijing's scrutiny.