ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 16, 1996 TAG: 9604160077
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHEJU-DO, SOUTH KOREA
SOURCE: Associated Press
President Clinton and South Korean President Kim Young-sam jointly proposed unconditional peace talks involving the two Koreas as well as the United States and China. ``North Korea has said it wants peace. This is our proposal to achieve it,'' Clinton asserted.
Standing before a vivid field of yellow mustard flowers alongside the East China Sea, Clinton cited an ``unshakable alliance between our two countries,'' and said, ``The United States is fully committed to the defense of South Korea.''
The unexpected proposal for four-way talks, revealed today in Korea, came after North Korea had sent troops toward the South in violation of the 43-year-old armistice agreement that ended the Korean War. The proposal departed from a long-standing U.S. goal of resolving tensions on the peninsula through direct North-South talks without outside participation.
``We hope Pyongyang will take it seriously,'' Clinton said in a joint news conference with Kim during a ten-hour visit on this resort island 60 miles south of the Korean mainland.
Clinton embraced a plan that had been privately advanced two months ago by the Seoul government.
Neither North Korea nor China had any immediate response, and Clinton warned not to expect one quickly, particularly from the secretive North Korean government.
``We should not expect any immediate positive response. I would be happy if it came,'' Clinton said. He said the United States wanted to ``put it out there and be patient.''
Clinton asserted that ``there would be no separate agreement'' between the United States and North Korea.
For his part, Kim said the proposed four-way process was designed to ``establish a permanent regime of peace in Korea.''
He said he and Clinton ``shared serious concern'' over North Korea's penetration earlier this month on three successive nights into the Demilitarized Zone separating the two nations. He said the North had ``tried to unilaterally undermine the armistice agreement.''
Clinton said North Korea's violation of the armistice ``reminds us once again that peace on the peninsula is fragile.''
And, even though North Korea has said it no longer feels bound by the 1953 armistice, both Clinton and his South Korean counterpart said the armistice should be observed until a permanent peace agreement can be put in place.
In a joint statement, Clinton and Kim said the ``peace process also should address a wide range of tension-reduction measures.'' Officials said that could include proposals for drawing troops back from both sides of the Demilitarized Zone, the 2-1/2-mile-wide border that separates the two Koreas.
Asked why he was optimistic for the process, Clinton said that, first, ``the North has said for some time it does want peace.''
Furthermore, despite North Korea's assertion that it does not view the 1953 armistice as binding, one of that country's ministers had recently said that it should be honored until a permanent peace could be put in place.
In a joint statement, both presidents said a meeting among the four countries should be convened ``as soon as possible and without preconditions. The purpose would be to initiate a process aimed at achieving a permanent peace settlement.''
A decade ago, South Korea proposed a six-way peace negotiation involving the United States, Japan, the Soviet Union, China and the two Koreas. The Reagan administration rejected the notion, holding out for North-South dialogue.
Earlier, during a picture-taking session with Clinton, Kim was asked if he sees any chance of a breakthrough with North Korea. ``I think there is a possibility,'' he said.
Clinton said he didn't know whether current food and fuel shortages in North Korea would complicate or facilitate peace prospects.
``What I would say to them is: President Kim and I are making a good faith effort here.'' He said it was in both countries' long-term interests to move toward peace.
He cautioned that the four-way peace talks would only be ``a way of providing a framework in which the North and the South can ultimately agree on the terms of peace. ... If the United States can play a positive role in that, we want to.''
But, he added, ``In the end, the Korean people are going to have to make peace with themselves and for their future.''
Clinton also ``reaffirmed the steadfast U.S. commitment to security in the Republic of Korea'' and his commitment to the agreement pledging U.S. defense of South Korea should it be attacked by the North.
Some U.S. officials believe North Korea staged its military incursions into the DMZ after learning about the initiative. That way, North Korea could claim the United States was reacting to its move, in a form of concession.
Clinton has tried to make peacemaking a hallmark of his presidency, based on efforts in the Middle East, Haiti, Bosnia and Northern Ireland. Any movement in the long Korean stalemate would be an election-year plus for the president.
After a 20-hour flight from Washington, Clinton arrived here before dawn. Accompanied by his wife, Hillary, the president was greeted by Kim and his wife at a seaside hotel.
The Clintons changed into running suits and strolled along the beach of the East China Sea as the rising sun burned away an early morning mist.
LENGTH: Medium: 99 linesby CNB