Washington - South Korea's President Kim Dae-Jung said in an interview published yesterday that North Korea had agreed that US troops should remain on the peninsula.
Mr Kim was quoted by the New York Times as saying that an understanding on the presence of US forces in Korea was the most important breakthrough at his June summit with thr North Korean leader, Mr Kim Jong-Il.
"We are surrounded by big powers - Russia, Japan and China - so the United States must stay for stability and peace in Asia," Mr Kim said. He told the newspaper he was using almost the exact words of Mr Kim Jong-Il during the summit.
North Korea has made no public mention of the proposal, and its often conflicting statements make its policy positions notoriously difficult to pin down.