Presidential Envoy, Lim Dong-won Meets with Kim Yong-nam of N.K.

Meeting with North Korea’s No.2 man, Kim Yong-nam, at Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang on Jan. 28, President Kim Dae-jung’s special envoy, Lim Dong-won, exchanged opinions on the North Korea nuclear crisis and inter-Korean pending issues such as economic cooperation projects.

The special envoy is said to have conveyed the concerns of the South and the international community on the North’s nuclear weapons development to the North and persuaded it that the two Koreas should pave the way for a peaceful resolution through dialogue before this issue is taken to the U.N. Security Council.

However, the president of the Presidium of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly is reported to have pointed out that the crisis was triggered off by the U.S.’ hostile policy, so it should be solved between Pyongyang and Washington. Also, it is said that he stressed the two Koreas’ thorough implementation of the June fifth inter-Korean joint statement, in order to prevent any possible war on the Korean Peninsula and protect the security of the Korean people.

North Korea’s state-run central news agency reported that day that Kim Yong-Nam met with the South Korean delegation and they "had a pleasant talk full with brotherly love."

A meeting between the presidential envoy and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, which all people’s eyes are on, is likely to take place on the evening of that day.

"The South Korean delegation visiting Pyongyang is scheduled to return on Jan. 29 without unexpected situations and the North Korean National Defense chairman is highly likely to entertain the delegation who are carrying President Kim’s letter with them, at a special dinner on Jan. 28," said an official with the South Korean government.

Earlier the Lim-lead entourage was treated to a welcoming dinner party on Jan. 27, organized by a North Korean economic delegation that visited South Korean factories last October including Jang Song-thaek, the North Korean leader’s brother-in-law. At the dinner party, they also had talks with many North Korean figures from 8:00 on that evening to 1:45 a.m. the next day.

Dong-Ki Sung esprit@donga.com