South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il began summit talks here Wednesday for in-depth discussions on measures to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula and cross-border economic cooperation.

The Roh-Kim talks began at 9:34 a.m. at the Paekhwawon State Guest House, the official accommodation of the South Korean president and his official delegates.


The South Korean side also included four senior officials -- Economy and Finance Minister Kwon O-kyu, Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung, National Intelligence Service chief Kim Man-bok and chief presidential secretary for foreign and security policy, Baek Jong-chun.

The North Korean leader came to the meeting with Kim Yang-gon, director of the United Front Department of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party.

North Korean leader Kim arrived at the entrance of the state guest house at 9:27 a.m. and was greeted by Roh, first lady Kwon Yang-suk and the South's special delegates.

Shaking hands with Roh and Kwon, Kim asked, "Did you sleep well?" and the president replied, "I had a good night's sleep. The accommodation is very satisfactory."

While walking together towards the meeting room, the two leaders talked to each other about a wall painting of waves in a sea. In the conversation, Roh was heard telling Kim, "I was very worried about (recent) flood damage in North Korea. On my way here (to Pyongyang), I found everything is in good order."

Prior to the opening of the talks, the two leaders posed for a photo.

Roh and Kim briefly met at a warm welcoming ceremony in the North Korean capital on Tuesday after the South Korean president walked across the heavily fortified inter-Korean border to enter the communist North.

Roh, who has vowed to put a Korean Peninsula peace arrangement formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War at the top of his summit agenda, became the first South Korean head of state to travel overland to North Korea. The talks come amid an upbeat mood in negotiations for North Korea's nuclear disarmament and a permanent peace mechanism on the Korean Peninsula.

The Roh-Kim meeting marks the first inter-Korean summit in seven years, following the first one held in June 2000 between then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and the North Korean leader.

Roh and Kim were expected to hold another round of summit talks in the afternoon before watching, probably together, the North's controversial Arirang mass gymnastics performance in the evening.

Following the performance, Roh will host a dinner for ranking North Korean officials and the South's leading delegates at the People's Palace of Culture in downtown Pyongyang.

According to officials accompanying Roh, the leaders are expected to broadly discuss issues related to inter-Korean co-prosperity, peace, unification and economic cooperation, and may reach agreements on the South's participation in massive infrastructure and industrial development projects in the North.

Depending on the results of the talks, the two leaders may adopt a joint statement, which would take the form of a "peace declaration" late at night, said the officials.


Did anyone watch this Live last night

뽀글이 카리스마에 놈현도 얼어가지고,, 에이구.. 이거 완전 뽀글이 농간에 한국 미디어가 농락당하고 있는 기분...
뽀글이가 어제 무표정이다가 오늘 좀 웃어주니깐 그저 좋다고 저 오늘 모든 대한민국 언론 미디어가 반색을 띠더만,,,
뽀글이 새끼는 구걸하는 주제에도 왠지모를 가오가 넘쳐나는데, 놈현 이놈은 적선하면서도 굽실굽실 눈만 말똥말똥 눈으로 똥만 싸고 있어 ..
아무튼 뽀글이 눈짓, 몸짓 하나에 농락당하는 기분이라서 졸라 짜증이 확 밀려오네..

Seems like talks are going in the right direction.

http://news.google.com/nwshp?client=firefo...451&topic=w

It could work. If S.Korea caves and gives into all of the North's demands. Sounds like Afghanistan all over again.

I really wish South Korea would grow a nut sack.

Grow up. Tell N. Korea to step the fu-k down. Tell America to get the fu-k out. Tell China to back the fu-k off. C'mon, tell the world you are ready to be independent. Americans don't want to be your friends any more then you want them here. Grow a pair of balls and stand up for yourself, or shut the hell up.

Tell the world you are ready to have your companies compete on a fair playing ground. Tell the world you are ready to defend yourself against all enemies without the help of anyone else.

Grow some fu-king balls or shut the hell up, and respect people when they help you. It's not a bad thing.

^ why don't you get a life Kowboy?

Kim Jong-Il needs to die quickly, he does only care about his ego and fantasies and he'll do whatever it takes to preserve it. But when he does die, hopefully his successor will be someone who is more capitalist-oriented - someone who felt such discomfort at the way Kim was handling the economy while that someone was watching it all from the sideline - someone with a conviction that capitalism and democracy work together to produce wealth and prosperity - and someone who realises that dictatorships don't work. Yet this is probably a far-fetched fantasy of mine.

Kim Jong II Greets Roh Moo Hyun: Video

Sure Kim Jong is a dictator but I highly doubt he doesn't care for Korea or its people.

I have been telling you all here for atleast 2 years here that this will happen and this is just the 2nd step to a full reunification. I should've made a bet with some of you anti-N.Korea and anti-reunifications.

As a fellow Asian also, Bulldogg is happy for all Koreans

What exactly would he gain if he unified with S. Korea?

He will become Korean hero, and possibly presidency position in unified Korea?

^ I don't think the S. Koreans will think so.

Most Koreans (from both the ROK and DPRK) are starting to see Roh Moo-hyun for what he really is....another gambit for the Americans. The American government as well as the UN do not want to see a united Korea and China or a remilitarized Japan with pro-Asian ideology.