Sydney or Seoul.
The talks were proceeding in a cordial mood. One of the guests asked Kim Jong Il whether he would accept the invitation from the chairman of the International Olympic Committee, extended to him and President Kim Dae Jung, to attend the Sydney Olympic Games.
Silence reigned for a minute. It was a sensitive issue in the light of the political situation.
At last Kim Jong Il said that he had not been informed of the invitation, adding that he could not make time to visit Seoul, where his fellow countrymen lived, much less Sydney.
He went on, “In fact, I have not yet been to Seoul to meet my fellow countrymen in the south, and there is no reason why I should go to far-off Sydney to perform like an actor!”
After a pause he resumed that he would like to visit Seoul, Jeju Island and Pusan, but he could not find time because of his tight schedule.
The guests became stenographers, noting down his words.
The following day the full text of Kim Jong Il’s discourse at the luncheon was carried on the whole two pages of newspapers in south Korea.
