Historic Korean summit delayed

South Korean soldiers look towards the North

The landmark summit meeting between leaders of North and South Korea has been delayed by one day at the request of Pyongyang.

A South Korean presidential spokesman said the summit, which had been due to start on Monday, had been postponed until Tuesday for "unavoidable technical reasons".

South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and his 180-member delegation had been due to fly to the North Korean capital on Monday to meet his northern counterpart Kim Jong-il, in a summit that offered hope for gradual reconciliation between the two nations after decades of bitter conflict.

The summit will mark the first time that rival Korean leaders have met since the 1950-53 Korean War.

President Kim Dae-jung was quoted by a spokesman as saying: "We have waited for the summit for 55 years, why can't we wait one more day?"

The delay was a setback for South Korean officials making the final preparations for the president's departure. But they indicated that they still expected the summit to go ahead.

"The North side requested the delay to make thorough preparations, so there will be no problems with President Kim's visit," said South Korean Unification Minister Park Jae-kyu.

North Korea's official media did not give any reasons for the delay.

Agenda

The two presidents are expected to discuss economic aid from the South to the impoverished North, as well as the reuniting of separated families.

Kim Jong-il's delegation asked for a delay of one day

Among other contentious issues likely to be on the agenda are the presence of 37,000 US troops in the South, and North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes.

The Korean peninsula was divided at the end of World War II into the communist North and the pro-Western South.

North and South Korea are technically still at war, after their three-year conflict ended in a truce and not a peace agreement.

The BBC's Caroline Gluck in Seoul says the summit between the two rivals is seen as a historic chance to begin ending one of the world's last remaining legacies of the cold war.

Puppy diplomacy: One of South Korea's Jindo dogs

The summit is expected to be more about symbolism than specific agreements.

The South Korean leader will present his hosts with a pair of rare Jindo dogs, which are native to South Korea and known for fierce loyalty to their owners.

The dogs are called Tongil (Unification) and Pyonghwa (Peace).

North Korea is expected to return the gesture by offering a northern breed of dog.

China this month hosted a surprise visit by Kim Jong-il. It was the first overseas visit in 17 years by the reclusive son of the late Kim Il-sung, who was revered in Pyongyang as North Korea's first and "eternal" president.