Korea Summit Runs Into 'Wall of Mistrust'

South rejects North's offer to extend chilly talks
By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 3, 2007 6:44 AM CDT
Korea Summit Runs Into 'Wall of Mistrust'
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, right, walks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il before their summit meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007. Kim proposed Wednesday to extend his summit with Roh for an extra day, raising hopes for progress at the first meeting between the countries...   (Associated Press)

Saying that he felt a "wall of mistrust" in talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, the South Korean president, Roh Moo-hyu, has rejected Kim's invitation to extend the two leaders' summit, Reuters reports. News of the impasse comes as the US and North Korea, in separate talks, near an agreement on disabling North Korea's nuclear program.

The summit between the two Koreas, only the second in the nations' 60-year division, broke down over issues such as a South Korean industrial park that extends over the North Korean border. Meanwhile, the US announced that it had backed a multinational plan to dismantle North Korea's nuclear capacity by year's end in exchange for economic aid. (More North Korea stories.)

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