President Roh Tae-woo of South Korea called Tuesday for a summit meeting with the president of North Korea and adoption of a non-aggression pact between the two nations.
"We must do everything possible to hasten the coming of the springtime for peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula," the president said.In the first address by a Korean leader to the United Nations, Roh pledged that "the Republic of Korea will never use force first against the North."
The North Koreans have expressed willingness to hold a summit but say the 42,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea must first withdraw.
Roh proposed that he and President Kim Il Sung of North Korea meet "as soon as possible" to "resolve all the problems raised by either or both sides with regard to disarmament, arms control and other military matters."