Roh hails Koreas' ties as worries mount on missiles

SEOUL, June 16 (Reuters) South Korea's President said today relations between South and North Korea were more stable than ever, even as US officials warned that Pyongyang is likely to hold a missile test soon in a blow to regional security.

''South-North relations today are making progress in a more stable manner than ever before,'' President Roh Moo-hyun told a televised conference in the southwestern city of Kwangju, where South and North Koreans are celebrating the anniversary of an unprecedented meeting of their leaders six years ago.

But US officials yesterday said North Korea has accelerated preparations for testing an intercontinental ballistic missile and that it was increasingly likely Pyongyang would go through with the test, as early as this weekend.

Negotiations by the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and China aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear programmes have stalled since the last round in November.

''Based on the success so far, we will continue efforts to establish a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue, trust between the South and North and mutual prosperity of the two,'' Roh said.

Kwangju is the political base for former President Kim Dae-jung, who travelled to Pyongyang for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on June 15, 2000 that spurred hopes of reconciliation.

North and South Korean delegates are holding four days of festivities in Kwangju to celebrate the anniversary of the summit. Local media cited South Korean officials as saying they raised their concerns of a missile test with delegates from the North.

White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley on Wednesday warned it would be a ''bad idea'' if Pyongyang tested and a South Korean official on Thursday said Seoul sent a message in May expressing ''grave concern'' about a possible test.

South and North Korea are technically at war under a truce that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

REUTERS SHR VC1226