S. Korea denies Cheju mooted as venue for Kim Jong Il visit

0 Comments | Asian Political News, July 17, 2000

SEOUL, July 12 Kyodo

South Korea denied Wednesday reports that President Kim Dae Jung had offered the southern resort Cheju Island as the venue for a reciprocal visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to the South.

"The two leaders talked about Cheju Island, but it is not true President Kim had proposed the island as a place for a reciprocal visit," a senior official at the Blue House presidential office said.

In an interview with Kyodo News, Julie Moon, a U.S.-based Korean-American journalist, said Kim Jong Il told her in a late June interview Kim Dae Jung had mooted Cheju Island as the venue for "security reasons," but Kim Jong Il had rejected.

Moon, who is known for her extensive contacts with North Korean officials, quoted Kim Jong Il as saying he would visit Seoul "because he would like to meet the people of Seoul."

According to a joint declaration signed June 15 at the end of the historic North-South summit, Kim Jong Il agreed to visit Seoul "at an appropriate time" to reciprocate the visit to Pyongyang by Kim Dae Jung.