SEOUL (Reuters) -- South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and the United States policy coordinator on North Korea on Monday agreed to act "sternly" against the North if necessary but to maintain a policy of engagement.

A statement from the presidential office said Kim and coordinator William Perry agreed the countries would "mutually respond sternly against North Korea's provocative acts" but "this was not the right time to give up the engagement policy.""North Korea is currently at a crossroads. One (way) is to risk war through military provocations or to open up," Kim told Perry at a meeting.

"But the two are equally difficult for North Korea to take up."

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