Strasbourg, 13/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - Kim Dae-Jung, President of the Republic of Korea, expressed the hope Tuesday following a formal session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, that the EU would continue to push for rapprochement between North and South Korea "until the day when peace is settled and the first ray of unification shines over the Korean Peninsula". The South Korean President praised the EU's rapid reaction to the fight against, terrorism, which also included his own country, while emphasising that "no religion or culture should be regarded with hostility under any circumstances" and that "on the contrary, we must strengthen dialogue and co-operation among religions and cultures."
In an address which particularly highlighted economic and technological co-operation, President Kim Dae-Jung also touched on the World Cup to be held next year in Korea and Japan, assuring that "We would like to make the 2002 World Cup a great turning point for world peace and the security of all peoples. The Korean people and I will do our utmost to make the 2002 World Cup the safest finals ever." (The President of the European Parliament, Nicole Fontaine, expressed delight at this "friendly call" in her reply.) Kim Dae-Jung particularly stressed the problem of the "digital divide", underlining the efforts made in his own country to overcome it (and by implication, "several million housewives, 600,000 members of the armed forces, the elderly, the physically challenged and even prison inmates") In this context the President welcomed the "Cyber Silk Road" project linking Asia and Europe together, as "a New Millennium project aimed at further activating exchanges between Asia and Europe by realising an "e-Eurasia"". He also emphasised that "there is another project that would greatly promote exchanges between Europe and Asia, the "Iron Silk Road", directly linking Korea with Europe by land. This project would require the restoration of the railway link between North and South Korea, which had been cut off for 50 years at the Demilitarised Zone. "When the trans-Korean railway is linked with the trans-China or trans-Siberian railway, a train leaving London could reach Seoul and Busan (the third largest container port in the world) via Paris, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Siberia or China" with transportation costs reduced by 30%, and the time taken shortened by two thirds, according to the South Korean President.