hankyoreh

South and North Korea remained apart over their disputed maritime border in the West Sea on Tuesday as they ended the first day of high-level talks here aimed at easing tension and seeking ways of supporting inter-Korean economic exchanges.

The rival armed forces have been locked in decades-long disputes and sometimes bloody conflicts over the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto inter-Korean sea border drawn up by United Nations troops at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Pyongyang refuses to recognize the line, especially along the crab-rich waters in the West Sea, and demands a new border to prevent naval clashes. Seoul wants to maintain the NLL and explore other measures such as a joint fishing zone near the line.

"Of course, North Korea took issue with the NLL. The North called for discussions on the issue, and we stressed our firm position again," Col. Moon Sung-mook told reporters after a three-hour first-day session of the general-grade talks held at the House of Peace, a South Korean building on the southern side of Panmunjom.

The North's widely expected stance dimmed hopes of tangible progress in the three-day talks, although the negotiations began in a rather amicable mood by the standards of inter-Korean military contact.

Tuesday's meeting finished far earlier than expected.

Moon said that the two sides sought efficiency, as they had in-depth discussions during the morning session on each other's ideas on how to prevent sea conflicts, create a joint fishing area, and guarantee the security of bilateral economic cooperation, including the operation of cross-border trains.

"We reached a conclusion that it would be more efficient and productive to meet again tomorrow and continue discussions after reviewing the positions of the both sides," Moon said.

He said the mood of the talks was "not bad" in general.

During the first part of the opening session, which media were allowed to cover, in fact, the two sides skipped the typical criticisms and sarcastic remarks.

The North's chief delegate Kim Young-chol started the opening session with a joke from the Internet again.

In the previous round in May, the two-star army general recounted a joke from the Internet about children who save U.S.

President George W. Bush from a car accident while he is jogging, preoccupied with the Iraq war and other international affairs.

When Bush offers them a reward, they request a place in Arlington Memorial Cemetery, saying, "because our parents will kill us if they learned that we saved you."

Kim's joke this time, however, sounded a bit obscene.

He talked about a professor who asks his class which part of the body becomes bigger when a man is stimulated.

An embarrassed female student declines to answer, but a male student gives the correct answer: the eye.

"She must have not answered the question because her head is full of obscene thoughts," he said.

Kim said the story gave a lesson for the two Koreas to listen to each other's position and make sincere efforts for compromise, to which his counterpart, Army Maj. Gen. Jeong Seung-jo, agreed.

The North Korean general also recalled a South Korean movie about a notorious tyrant in an ancient kingdom.

"I saw the movie on Yeonsangun, and it reminded me of the importance of reading the minds of people," Kim said. Yeonsangun is the 10th king of Korea's Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

In response, the South Korean delegate said, "Given you are interested in Korean film, I think you are an open-minded person."

They agreed that the South and North Korean militaries should try not to "suffer a big loss by going after a small gain."
PANMUNJOM, Korea, July 24 (Yonhap News)