S. Korean president, DPRK top leader start summit talks

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Source: CCTV.com | 10-04-2007 10:55

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun (L) and the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Il shake hands at the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, capital of DPRK, Oct. 3, 2007. The leaders of the two sides started their summit meeting Wednesday morning on inter-Korean co-prosperity, peace, reconciliation and reunification.(Xinhua Photo)

ROK President, Roh Moo-hyun, and DPRK leader, Kim Jong Il, have ended the two rounds of their summit. President Roh says he is pleased with the result. The leaders agreed to issue a joint declaration Thursday.

The two countries decided to stick to their original schedule and not extend their first summit in seven years. Kim said that the talks had been sufficient to reach an agreement. And the ROK spokesman said the two sides were drafting an agreement.

Roh Moo-hyun said, "We believe the two leaders had enough honest dialogue and there were good results. The president himself said he is satisfied with the outcome of the talks.

The official meeting between the two leaders has ended and the agreements will be announced."

Earlier in the day, Roh said he sought common ground with Kim at the formal talks in Pyongyang.

Roh Moo-hyun said, "We couldn't agree on everything we talked about. We agreed on some things and on other things we didn't agree. But what I can be sure of is we both have a firm intention of establishing peace. We agree that there should be a direction in the future for peace on the Peninsula."

Roh acknowledged that Pyongyang was taking a cautious approach in opening up to its neighbor.

Roh said, "The North still has some skepticism about the South and doesn't trust us enough."

During the rounds of talks on Wednesday, the two leaders discussed measures to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula as well as economic cooperation.

A joint declaration will be issued on Thursday...and is expected to sum up the outcome of their meetings.