South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said Friday that the
discussion on a permanent peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula
should involve four nations.
"As China has clearly expressed its intention to participate in
the summit, the discussion should be held as a four-party talks,"
Roh told foreign correspondents at the Presidential Office in
Seoul.
The discussion on permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula would
involve China, the US, South and North Korea, he said.
This is the first time South Korean officials have declared
China should be involved in the discussion. In a joint declaration
adopted by Roh and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in early
October, the two sides said the discussion should be held among
"three or four parties," triggering concerns about which nation
would be the third party besides North Korea and the US if the
discussion were held among three parties.
Roh reiterated that the nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula
should be resolved within the framework of the six-party talks.
Inter-Korean cooperation and the six-party process are together
working as a mutually reinforcing cycle, the president said.
The primary task for both South and North Korea is to sincerely
implement the agreements reached by the two sides and enhance the
mutual trust between Seoul and Pyongyang, the president said.
As to inter-Korean economic cooperation, Roh stressed that North
Korea is a land of opportunity for entrepreneurs from South Korea.
"South Korea will have to help North Korea gain access to
international capital in order to build its infrastructure," he
said.
(Xinhua News Agency October 20, 2007)
