A South Korean proposal

Press, 24 June 1981, Page 20

A South Korean proposal

The President of. South Korea, Mr Chun Doo Kwan,- has repeated a proposal that the leaders of North Korea and South Korea should meet as a first step towards reunification of Korea, which has been divided since the end of the Second World War. President Chun first proposed such a meeting in January this year. He repeated the proposal last week at the inaugural meeting of a South Korean organisation called the "advisory Council on Peaceful Unification Policy.” The Charge d’Affairs at the South Korean Embassy in Wellington, Mr K. S. Hwang, said this week that so far North Korea had made only a "negative response” to the proposal in January. The North

Korean President, Mr Kim II Sung, had shown “no sign of changing the strategy of unifying Korea by force of arms.” In the latest proposal President Chun has offered to President Kim the choice of time and place for the meeting. President Chun suggested the South Korean capital, Seoul, the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, the village of Panmunjom on the border between the two countries, or any other convenient place. If the summit meeting took place, President Chun said, he hoped it would discuss "all questions raised by both sides,” including a proposed exchange of visits and plans for the reunification of Korea which have been put forward in the last few years by both sides.

The talks might be organised through an international institution such as the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations. “Unification is a task for the whole nation; it cannot be the exclusive preserve of a specific political party or a specific political system,” said President Chun.

An exchange of visits between North and South Korea would help understanding, said President Chun. “If the situation in North Korea does not permit the prompt and complete opening of their society, I ,hope that exchanges can begin first in the athletic, cultural, academic, postal, and economic fields, with gradual progress made towards all-out exchanges and a complete opening,” the President said.