2 Koreas agree to reunions

SEOUL, South Korea -- North and South Korea agreed Wednesday to another round of cross-border reunions between estranged family members and to a busy fall schedule of cultural and sporting events. But efforts to set up a meeting between the two nations' military officials failed.

The results of three-day Cabinet-level talks at a hotel here were relatively modest, given expectations that the negotiations would lead to a breakthrough. South Korean officials had hoped the North Korean military would agree to security talks needed before a railroad can be built to reconnect the peninsula through the Demilitarized Zone.

But despite last-minute wrangling, North Korean negotiators would go no further than pledging they would recommend a meeting between military officials.

"That was the best we could get under the circumstances," conceded Kim Jung Ro, spokesman for the South's negotiating team. South Koreans nevertheless considered this latest round of talks "a breakthrough in that relations are back on track and we have fixed the schedules for many special events over the year," he said.

The family reunions are to take place during Chuseok, the Korean thanksgiving, which begins Sept. 14. As with the last reunions this spring, the site is to be the North Korean resort of Mount Kumgang. Talks under the auspices of the Red Cross are also to take place next month in an effort to designate a permanent place for Koreans wanting to meet relatives who live across the border.

In addition, the schedule for coming events includes economic cooperation talks this month and negotiations on tourism next month. The next round of Cabinet-level meetings is to be held Oct. 19-22 in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.

On the sporting scene, teams from the two nations are to square off in a friendly soccer match Sept. 7, their first in more than a decade. North Korea also has promised to send athletes to participate in the Asian games, which are being held Sept. 29 to Oct. 14 in Busan, South Korea. As part of Wednesday's deal, the two countries agreed to an exchange of tae kwon do teams.

Despite the activity, many Korea watchers think relations remain at an impasse on fundamental issues. It has been less than two months since a naval clash between the two nations left five South Korean sailors dead, and the fact that the North Korean military is resisting a meeting with its southern counterpart shows that distrust remains high.

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