SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH FOREIGN MINISTER OF REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Press Release
SG/T/2041

SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH FOREIGN MINISTER OF REPUBLIC OF KOREA

SEOUL, 30 March -- Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali today met with Foreign Minister Ro-Myung Gong of the Republic of Korea for an in-depth discussion of possible paths towards a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The two reviewed reports on the humanitarian situation and severe food shortages in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the north.

The Secretary-General informed the Foreign Minister that Pyongyang, through its Ambassador in Geneva, has requested the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs to issue a second inter-agency appeal to address the emergency situation in that country. The first appeal was launched in the fall of 1995 after the devastation of last summer's flooding became evident.

The Secretary-General said he hoped to be able to build on the momentum of economic cooperation projects such as the Tumen River Area Development Programme, which involves both countries, to improve relations between the two. The project aims to enhance the economic climate of the region by improving rail, road and port infrastructures, facilitating trade and promoting investment.

"A permanent peace in the Korean Peninsula -- to replace the 1953 armistice agreement -- is a key objective of the international community", the Secretary-General said in a toast to Foreign Minister Gong. "With patience and good will, the issue can be resolved in a peaceful manner."

The Secretary-General reiterated that he stands "ready to respond in whatever way I can should the good offices or other United Nations services be deemed helpful to this process".

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