Korean War.

"The ambassador denied that reunification was the No. 1 goal of the agreement reached by the leaders of the two Koreas during their summit meeting in June," said Kim, a North Korean who lives in Japan and has long been considered the unofficial spokesman of the government in Pyongyang.

Kim also denied the widely held view that North Korea presents a big military threat to South Korean and U.S. forces. "From our point of view, our missile forces and military spending are a joke compared to the massive ones of the United States," Kim said.

After Bosworth? opening speech, and Kim? reaction outside the conference room, the two-day seminar of East Asia specialists from around the world was closed to the media until Dec. 7, when the seminar? leader, former U.N. under-secretary-general Yasushi Akashi, will issue a final statement about its observations regarding the Koreas.

During his speech, Bosworth praised South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il for taking major steps to reduce long-standing tensions and adversity between the two countries during their summit in Pyongyang in June.

Those actions include the South? assistance to the North? struggling economy and food shortages, and steps the two countries have taken to reunite separated families and to reopen rail and road links across one of the world? most heavily armed borders.