By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

CHEJU ISLAND _ Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan said Friday that South Korea will give ``full support’’ to North Korea in economic aid and security assurance once Pyongyang gives up its nuclear weapons program.

In a keynote speech at the third Jeju (Cheju) Peace Forum at the Shilla Jeju Hotel here, Lee urged the North to return to the stalled six-party talks to end the international standoff over its nuclear program.

``If North Korea makes a strategic decision to scrap its nuclear weapons program, South Korea will not spare any efforts in helping North Korea improve the living standard of its people and receive security assurance in cooperation with the international community,’’ he said.

Lee stressed it is the ``right time’’ to resolve the 32-month-long nuclear standoff and called for Pyongyang’s return to the six-party talks involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia.

``The resumption of the six-party talks is important. But achieving substantial progress in the talks is more important,’’ Lee said, adding the international community and participants of the negotiations should not make a hasty push for the talks.

The premier said, ``Peace on the Korean Peninsula is the most crucial condition for the peace and prosperity of Northeast Asia, which will be attained by building mutual trust among the countries in the region.’’

At the World Leadership Session of the forum, Qian Qichen, former vice premier of China, called for creation of a regional environment of mutual respect and harmonious coexistence, casting away the Cold War mentality. Participants in the session included Han Seung-soo, former president of the United Nations General Assembly, and Murayama Tomiichi, former prime minister of Japan.

Qian emphasized that historical issues should be handled with sincerity, while differences should be resolved with tolerance.

``We should seek cooperation rather than provoke confrontation, and dispel misgivings rather than inflame tensions to achieve win-win cooperation.’’

As for the North Korean nuclear issue, Qian said it should be resolved with a peaceful solution in mind, calling for the establishment of a regional security framework.

He praised the inter-Korean summit between former President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang in June 2000, saying the event ``opened a new chapter in inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation.’’

In a speech at the forum, Lim Dong-won, chairman of the Sejong Institute, a private think tank in South Korea, called on the two Koreas to exchange special envoys as part of efforts to build mutual trust and maintain communication channels.

Lim, who was a special envoy to Pyongyang during the Kim Dae-jung administration, also said the inter-Korean summit should take place on a regular basis.

``The 2000 inter-Korean summit proved that only by sitting face-to-face and engaging in direct dialogue, can changes from above be made possible,’’ he said. ``Such a summit provides a shortcut to solving problems.’’

Lim said the U.S. should use an engagement policy that induces change in the reclusive North Korea rather than trying to solve problems by sticking to a ``hard-line’’ policy.

He stressed the importance of the U.S. role not only as a key player in resolving the North’s nuclear issue, but also as a ``balancer and stabilizer’’ in Northeast Asia.

More than 200 people, including scholars, former and incumbent government officials around the world and business leaders, gathered at the biennial international conference on Cheju Island.

Since its inauguration in 2001, the world forum has served as a venue for world leaders to jointly promote peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia, as well as to review the political and economic developments in and around the Korean Peninsula.

Under the theme of ``Building a Northeast Asian Community: Toward Peace and Prosperity,’’ the forum ends today. Cheju was designated as the ``Island of World Peace’’ by the government last January.

The forum is jointly hosted by the Cheju provincial government, Yonsei University, Cheju National University and the East Asia Foundation. It is co-organized by five research institutes. They are the Jeju Development Institute, Keio University in Japan, China People’s University, the Institute of World Economy and International Relations at the Russian Academy of Sciences and Johns Hopkins University in the United States.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr