SKorea economy suffers b'coz of US biased reports

Seoul, Jan 25: President Roh Moo-hyun criticised some foreign media coverage of communist North Korea as ''groundless'' today and said South Korea's economy suffers as a result of US-biased reports that raise tension.

''I believe that it would be good for at least South Korea's media to differentiate themselves from the groundless reporting on the North Korean crisis by the foreign media,'' Roh told a news conference.

The president did not mention any specific instances of foreign reporting he saw as inaccurate.

US media often cite US officials' intelligence assessments for reports on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme, which has come under close scrutiny following the country's first nuclear test last October.

''US media talk about North Korea from the US point of view on the North,'' Roh said.

''Even if North Korea is cast in a bad light, even if tension on the Korean peninsula is elevated, that's not much of a problem for them,'' he said. ''When tension is heightened, our economy is shaken immediately so we have a serious interest in it.'' South Korean officials have said they themselves rely heavily on US intelligence on the secretive North.

South Korean and U.S. officials have said this week that six-country talks aimed at scrapping North Korea's nuclear weapons programme are likely to resume early next month and could make real progress.

Roh said he could not hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il until the negotiations -- which bring together the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and host China -- were successful.

There has been speculation in the South Korean media that Roh, battling low approval ratings, may hold a summit with Kim to boost his political standing before leaving office in about a year.

''I think the timing is difficult to realise a South-North Korea summit at this point,'' Roh said.

The only time the leaders of the two Koreas met was in June 2000 when then-president Kim Dae-jung travelled to Pyongyang for a meeting with Kim Jong-il. His visit helped pave the way for an improvement of ties between the two countries, which are technically still at war.

Reuters