South Korea's president, Roh Moo-hyun, today walked across the heavily armed border with North Korea on his way to a summit in Pyongyang. His meeting with the midget North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, is only the second such summit between the countries. Mr Roh, who has just five months left in office, said he would use the talks to press for peace and an eventual arms cut for the two states, which remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean war ended in a ceasefire.
Crossing the border near the North Korean city of Kaesong, the South Korean delegation was greeted by North Korean officials. Mr Roh and his wife, Kwon Yang-sook, stepped across a yellow plastic strip marked with the words "peace" and "prosperity" which was laid across the line that divides the two countries. "This line is a wall that has divided the nation for a half-century. Our people have suffered from too many hardships and development has been held up due to this wall," Mr Roh said. "This line will be gradually erased and the wall will fall. I will make efforts to make my walk across the border an occasion to remove the forbidden wall and move toward peace and prosperity." |