By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun is expected to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il at least six times, including two summit talks, during his three-day stay in Pyongyang, government sources said Monday.
Before leaving for North Korea Tuesday morning, Roh is scheduled to deliver a message to South Korean people at Cheong Wa Dae and have a tea meeting with Cabinet members and entourages for his trip to the North Korean capital.
The president's historic crossing of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) on foot will take place around 9:00 a.m. He will get out of the car 30 meters ahead of the southern part of the MDL, a symbol of the divided Korean Peninsula, and go 30 meters on foot to the North, the sources said.
Roh's MDL crossing will be nationally televised in South Korea. Roh would likely make a brief address to the South Korean media before taking the Pyongyang-Gaeseong highway in a Mercedes, they said.
Roh will get to Pyongyang around noon and be greeted by North Koreans at a large-scale ceremony, presided over by Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, the second-most senior leader in North Korea.
Roh is to inspect the honor guards of the North Korean armed forces.
After the ceremony, Roh will leave for the Baekhwawon State Guest House, where Kim Jong-il may greet his South Korean counterpart, sources said.
Roh is scheduled to hold a meeting with Kim Yong-nam at the Mansudae Assembly Hall and visit an exhibition hall on the history of North Korea's heavy industry.
The second day is the highlight of the 2007 South-North Korean Summit.
Sources said the leaders of the two Koreas are expected to have two summit talks on Wednesday in the morning and evening. A small number of key aides for Roh and Kim will attend the summit meetings, they said.
Baek Jong-chun, presidential secretary for security affairs, Vice Minister of Finance and Economy Kwon O-kyu, Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung and National Intelligence Service Director Kim Man-bok are expected to sit with Roh.
In the evening, the South Korean delegation is to watch the Arirang Performance, a pro-communist propaganda gymnastic show, at Pyongyang 5.1 Stadium.
Kim Jong-il is likely to attend the show with Roh.
Roh will host a dinner for the North Korean leader at the People's Palace of Culture.
The two Korean leaders may hold a second summit after the dinner to sign a join statement on their summit talks, as happened at the first inter-Korean summit seven years ago, sources said.
On the last day, Roh's itinerary will consist mainly of visits to the North's major industrial and cultural facilities, including a West Sea floodgate, train locomotive plant, textile factory, art college and a medical research institute.
Roh and Kim may meet again at a farewell luncheon. On his way back home, Roh will visit the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.