News Execs From 2 Koreas Meet in North
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SEOUL — Presidents of 46 South Korean newspapers and broadcasters visited North Korea on Saturday on a rare trip to the isolated communist country, which had been virtually closed to the outside news media.
The executives expected to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who invited them during his summit with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung in June.
When the southern visitors arrived at the airport outside Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, North Korean media executives greeted them with bouquets, according to North Korean TV footage, carried by South Korea’s MBC-TV.
A thaw in relations has been spreading rapidly since the June summit, during which both Koreas pledged to work together for reconciliation and encourage exchanges.
Southern media used to describe Kim Jong Il as an unpredictable recluse sponsoring terrorism, while North Korea had called the South’s media the “stooges of reactionaries.” But they have recently toned down their hostile rhetoric.
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