North Korea Treaties South Korea

North and South Korea signed three accords Thursday that could lead to broad cooperation in political, military and economic spheres, but a continued deadlock over nuclear inspections threatened to keep them from being carried out. The countries' two prime ministers, meeting in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, signed detailed pacts to start the process of implementing December's landmark agreement that would begin to reconcile their populations, divided since World War II.

Unofficial translation of the agreement signed by the leaders of North Korea and South Korea in Pyongyang, North Korea: In accordance with the noble will of the entire people yearning for the peaceful reunification of the nation, President Kim Dae Jung of the Republic of [South] Korea and National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong Il of the Democratic People's Republic of [North] Korea held a historic meeting and summit talks in Pyongyang from June 13 to June 15, 2000.

South Korea proposed preliminary contacts with North Korea to set up a joint parliamentary session that would draft a nonaggression pact and other tension-easing measures. National Assembly Speaker Kim Chae Sun said in a letter addressed to his North Korean counterpart, Yang Hyung Sup, that the working talks could be held next week in the border truce town of Panmunjom. There was no immediate response from North Korea.

North Korea has told the U.S.-led United Nations Command that it will announce the scrapping of the 1953 armistice agreement that ended the three-year Korean War, a UNC spokesman said today. North Korea, which has demanded that the armistice be replaced with a full-scale peace treaty with the United States, barred U.N. monitors last month from entering its territory at Panmunjom, the sole crossing point on the tense inter-Korean border.

Unofficial translation of the agreement signed by the leaders of North Korea and South Korea in Pyongyang, North Korea: In accordance with the noble will of the entire people yearning for the peaceful reunification of the nation, President Kim Dae Jung of the Republic of [South] Korea and National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong Il of the Democratic People's Republic of [North] Korea held a historic meeting and summit talks in Pyongyang from June 13 to June 15, 2000.

The two Koreas signed a historic agreement setting up the first meetings between prime ministers of the hostile nations since the Korean Peninsula was divided more than 40 years ago. The 19-point agreement calls for Sept. 4-7 meetings in Seoul to discuss the easing of political and military confrontations, multilateral exchanges and cooperation. A second meeting is to be held Oct. 16-19 in the Communist North Korean capital of Pyongyang.

North Korea has told the U.S.-led United Nations Command that it will announce the scrapping of the 1953 armistice agreement that ended the three-year Korean War, a UNC spokesman said today. North Korea, which has demanded that the armistice be replaced with a full-scale peace treaty with the United States, barred U.N. monitors last month from entering its territory at Panmunjom, the sole crossing point on the tense inter-Korean border.

American forces have been on duty in South Korea for more than 40 years, standing guard over an armistice agreement that never evolved into a permanent peace treaty. With tensions rising over North Korea's nuclear intensions, more U.S. troops and equipment are on the way. U.S. military commanders say the move is larely for logistical reasons, allowing easy movement of U.S. equipment on a non-emergency basis.

North and South Korea today signed a nonaggression accord that lays the groundwork for ending decades of deep hostility and begins the process of reconciling and reunifying the two nations. The agreement, reached Thursday during the fifth round of talks by the prime ministers that began in September, 1990, represents "a historic milestone," said South Korean spokesman Lee Dong Bok.

American forces have been on duty in South Korea for more than 40 years, standing guard over an armistice agreement that never evolved into a permanent peace treaty. With tensions rising over North Korea's nuclear intensions, more U.S. troops and equipment are on the way. U.S. military commanders say the move is larely for logistical reasons, allowing easy movement of U.S. equipment on a non-emergency basis.

North and South Korea signed three accords Thursday that could lead to broad cooperation in political, military and economic spheres, but a continued deadlock over nuclear inspections threatened to keep them from being carried out. The countries' two prime ministers, meeting in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, signed detailed pacts to start the process of implementing December's landmark agreement that would begin to reconcile their populations, divided since World War II.

North and South Korea today signed a nonaggression accord that lays the groundwork for ending decades of deep hostility and begins the process of reconciling and reunifying the two nations. The agreement, reached Thursday during the fifth round of talks by the prime ministers that began in September, 1990, represents "a historic milestone," said South Korean spokesman Lee Dong Bok.

The two Koreas signed a historic agreement setting up the first meetings between prime ministers of the hostile nations since the Korean Peninsula was divided more than 40 years ago. The 19-point agreement calls for Sept. 4-7 meetings in Seoul to discuss the easing of political and military confrontations, multilateral exchanges and cooperation. A second meeting is to be held Oct. 16-19 in the Communist North Korean capital of Pyongyang.

South Korea proposed preliminary contacts with North Korea to set up a joint parliamentary session that would draft a nonaggression pact and other tension-easing measures. National Assembly Speaker Kim Chae Sun said in a letter addressed to his North Korean counterpart, Yang Hyung Sup, that the working talks could be held next week in the border truce town of Panmunjom. There was no immediate response from North Korea.