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| Koreas announce historic summit | Koreas announce historic summit |
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| Leaders from North and South Korea are to hold a summit, only the second ever between the two sides, officials have announced. | Leaders from North and South Korea are to hold a summit, only the second ever between the two sides, officials have announced. |
| President Roh Moo-hyun will meet North Korea's Kim Jong-il in the North's capital, Pyongyang, from 28-30 August. | President Roh Moo-hyun will meet North Korea's Kim Jong-il in the North's capital, Pyongyang, from 28-30 August. |
| The summit comes seven years after the first one, when Mr Kim met then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. | The summit comes seven years after the first one, when Mr Kim met then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. |
| That meeting ushered in improved ties and reconciliation between the two sides, who remain technically at war. | That meeting ushered in improved ties and reconciliation between the two sides, who remain technically at war. |
| This summit comes amid a gradual improvement in North Korea's ties with the outside world. | This summit comes amid a gradual improvement in North Korea's ties with the outside world. |
| 'Weighty significance' | 'Weighty significance' |
| The meeting was finally agreed after senior South Korean intelligence personnel made two trips to the North, officials said. | The meeting was finally agreed after senior South Korean intelligence personnel made two trips to the North, officials said. |
| THE TWO KOREAS 1910: Korean Peninsula colonised by Japan1945: Divided into US-backed South and Soviet-backed North1950-1953: Korean War, no peace deal signed1987: North Korea bombs a South airliner, killing 1151990s: South Korea introduces conciliatory Sunshine Policy2000: Kim Jong-il and Kim Dae-jung hold first leaders' summit Guide to North Korea | THE TWO KOREAS 1910: Korean Peninsula colonised by Japan1945: Divided into US-backed South and Soviet-backed North1950-1953: Korean War, no peace deal signed1987: North Korea bombs a South airliner, killing 1151990s: South Korea introduces conciliatory Sunshine Policy2000: Kim Jong-il and Kim Dae-jung hold first leaders' summit Guide to North Korea |
| South Korea's presidential office said that the summit would "contribute to substantially opening the era of peace and prosperity between the two Koreas". | South Korea's presidential office said that the summit would "contribute to substantially opening the era of peace and prosperity between the two Koreas". |
| North Korean state news agency KCNA, meanwhile, said it would be "of weighty significance in opening a new phase of peace on the Korean Peninsula". | North Korean state news agency KCNA, meanwhile, said it would be "of weighty significance in opening a new phase of peace on the Korean Peninsula". |
| Analysts say the meeting is another sign of Mr Kim's increasing willingness to co-operate with the international community. | |
| Last month, North Korea finally shut down its main Yongbyon reactor as part of an international aid-for-disarmament deal aimed at ending its nuclear programme. | |
| But the motivation for Mr Roh could well be the fact that it is likely to be his last chance to influence his nation's political future. | |
| The increasingly unpopular South Korean president is approaching the end of his term, and both Mr Roh and Mr Kim are well aware that the opposition Grand National Party - which advocates a tougher line towards North Korea - looks likely to win December's presidential elections. | |
| Worldwide welcome | |
| The two Koreas will formalise an agenda for the summit at preparatory meetings in the border city of Kaesong, where they jointly run an industrial park. | |
| They could "expand military confidence-building measures and prepare the stepping stones to establishing a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula", said Mr Roh's security advisor, Baek Jong-chun. | |
| The international community hailed the news of the summit. | |
| "We have long welcomed and supported North-South dialogue and hope that this meeting will help promote peace and security on the Korean Peninsula," US State Department spokesperson Joanne Moore said. | |
| "China expects positive results can be achieved in the second South-North summit," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in statement. | |
| The two Koreas have not signed a formal peace agreement since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. | The two Koreas have not signed a formal peace agreement since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. |
| But after the landmark summit in 2000, ties between the two Koreas warmed. Joint economic projects began and reunion meetings for families divided by the partitioning of the Korean Peninsula in 1953 were initiated. | |
| Kim Dae-jung won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to engage with Pyongyang, but he was forced to apologise when it emerged that large amounts of cash were sent to North Korea ahead of the talks. | Kim Dae-jung won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to engage with Pyongyang, but he was forced to apologise when it emerged that large amounts of cash were sent to North Korea ahead of the talks. |