Korean leaders hold landmark meeting

The leaders of North and South Korea are meeting for only the second summit between the two states, which are still technically at war.South Korea's president Roh Moo-hyun arrived in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, to cheering crowds shouting "reunify the fatherland".Mr Roh has billed his first trip to the communist North to meet its leader Kim Jong-il as a chance to end animosity between the states.But his critics say the visit is aimed more at domestic politics and expect him to avoid the sensitive issues of nuclear weapons and mass human rights abuses.North Koreans dressed in their finest waved pink and red plastic flowers and cheered on cue when their leader arrived at Pyongyang's main square.The hermit kingdom's portly leader, in his trademark jumpsuit and platform shoes, shook hands unsmilingly with the South Korean leader and his wife.The cool greeting was in sharp contrast to Mr Kim's warm welcome for the South's president, Kim Dae-jung, at the first summit in 2000. The two leaders then rode together in cars, embraced, held hands and harmonised in singing patriotic songs.This latest meeting comes against a backdrop of regional negotiations to persuade the North to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions in return for massive aid and an end to its status as an international pariah.With just five months left in office, Mr Roh has said he would use the summit to press for peace and an eventual arms cut on the peninsula where some two million troops face off, most of them near the border.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

» More on this story... «

ITN | October 2, 2007

Tags:. .reunify. .dae. .fatherland. .moo. .jung