The Two Koreas_ A Contemporary History - Don Oberdorfer [243]
2. Acknowledging that there are common elements in the South's proposal for a confederation and the North's proposal for a federation of lower stage as the formulae for achieving reunification, the South and the North agreed to promote reunification in that direction.
3. The South and the North have agreed to promptly resolve humanitarian issues such as exchange visits by separated family members and relatives on the occasion of the August 15 National Liberation Day and the question of former longterm prisoners who had refused to renounce communism.
4. The South and the North have agreed to consolidate mutual trust by promoting balanced development of the national economy through economic cooperation and by stimulating cooperation and exchanges in civic, cultural, sports, public health, environmental and all other fields.
5. The South and the North have agreed to hold a dialogue between relevant authorities in the near future to implement the above agreement expeditiously.
President Kim Dae Jung cordially invited National Defense Commission chairman Kim Jong Il to visit Seoul, and Chairman Kim Jong Il decided to visit Seoul at an appropriate time.
Some difficult moments and disagreements took place which, according to the South Korean president, nearly caused the talks to break off. Among these were the complex and delicate issues of confederation versus federation; the question of whether Kim Jong Il should sign the joint statement rather than Kim Yong Nam, the protocol head of state; and whether Kim Jong Il would commit himself to a return summit in Seoul. In retrospect, the South Korean president said the success of the summit meeting "was due in large measure to [Kim Jong Il's] ability to be receptive to new ideas and a willingness to change his own views.... He didn't appear to be a coldminded theoretician, but a very sensitive personality who had a sharp mind."
Some of the discussions went far beyond bilateral questions to international issues. Kim Dae Jung handed his opposite a number of written statements urging him to adhere strictly to the 1994 Agreed Framework with the United States on nuclear issues, and to bring the negotiations with Washington on curbing North Korean missiles to a smooth and satisfactory conclusion. Without good North Korean relations with the United States, the South Korean president said, relations between North and South Korea could not continue to make progress.
The presence of American troops on the peninsula will be needed even after unification to maintain regional balance and security, Kim Dae Jung said. The North Korean leader replied that he agreed, and said he had sent a message to this effect to Washington as early as 1992 via Kim Yong Sun, who was sitting on his immediate right and confirmed that he had given this message to Undersecretary of State Arnold Kantor. However, the role of American troops on the peninsula should be changed, the North Korean leader added. Rather than defending the South against the North, he said, they should have a peacekeeping purpose. This was a key point in a peace treaty he wished to negotiate with United States, he said. When Kim Dae Jung asked why North Korean radio broadcasts continued to attack the presence of U.S. troops, Kim Jong II responded this was for internal propaganda purposes-and would continue.
"A new age has dawned for our nation," Kim Dae Jung declared when he returned home on the afternoon of June 15. "We have reached a turning point so that we can put an end to the history of ter ritorial division." Of his personal feelings, he told the South Korean people, "I found that Pyongyang, too, was our land, indeed. The Pyongyang people are the same as we, the same nation sharing the same blood.... We lived as a unified nation for 1300 years before we were divided 55 years ago against our will. It is impossible for us to continue to live separated physically and spiritually. I was able to reconfirm this fact first-hand