SOUTH KOREA PREMIER OFFERS TALKS WITH NORTH KOREA
South Korea proposed a meeting of prime
ministers to improve relations with North Korea, but said the
two countries must first restore mutual trust.
    South Korean Prime Minister Lho Shin-yong proposed in a
letter to his North Korean counterpart Li Gun-mo that they meet
to "discuss ... Various issues raised by the two sides to
improve relations and ease tension."
    The letter, released to the media by a government
spokesman, said if the proposed meeting took place it would
open the way for summit talks between South Korean President
Chun Doo Hwan and North Korean leader Kim Il-sung.
    The letter was in reply to a recent North Korean call for
high-level political and military talks.
    Lho said the prime ministers could discuss any proposal to
be made by the North, once "the minimum conditions for mutual
trust have been created by the convening of a water resources
meeting and the resumption of the suspended dialogues."
    Lho was referring to discussions on a controversial
northern dam project Seoul has said is aimed at flooding large
areas of the South, and to a resumption of stalled talks on
trade and humanitarian issues.
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