By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter

South and North Korean civic leaders have reached a compromise to allow about 300 South Korean civilian representatives to attend anniversary celebrations for the 2000 inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang next week.

South Korean organizers of the June 14-17 festivities yesterday said the number was tentatively agreed on during four days of negotiations with their North Korean counterparts in Pyongyang.

``We reached a certain compromise,’’ Paik Nak-chung, co-chairman of the organizing committee for the anniversary events, told reporters at Beijing Airport after returning from the North with eight other South Korean representatives.

``The outcome is not satisfactory, but we made great effort with the belief that inter-Korean relations cannot be allowed to be suspended,’’ he said.

Pyongyang, which originally agreed on the participation of 615 South Korean civic representatives, abruptly demanded Seoul cut the delegation to 190 last week, citing U.S. interference.

It also requested a separate government delegation to the anniversary events be trimmed to 30 from an originally agreed 70 officials and aides.

The sudden about-face threatened to ruin plans for the first government-level anniversary ceremonies to celebrate the landmark summit between then-President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on June 15, 2000.

Past anniversary events were arranged by civic groups without government officials present.

But the compromise will likely clear the way for Unification Minister Chung Dong-young to lead a reduced group of government representatives to the events in the North Korean capital.

Chung earlier said the size of the official delegation is not important as long as the civilian organizers can reach an acceptable agreement.

Meanwhile, the overseas planning committee for the anniversary events agreed to Pyongyang’s demand to cut its delegation from 300 to 100.

If the agreements are confirmed, the number of South Korean and overseas ethnic Korean participants _ government and civilian _ will be around 400, down from the more than 1,000 initially expected.

The 2000 summit is hailed as an important breakthrough in inter-Korean reconciliation, facilitating joint business ventures such as the Kaesong Industrial Complex and reunions for families separated by the Korean War.

However, tensions over the North’s advancing nuclear weapons programs have weighed heavily on inter-Korean relations.

Pyongyang said Washington’s ``hostile policy’’ led it to request Seoul reduce the size of its delegations.

The joint celebrations were agreed to during vice minister-level talks at the North Korean border town of Kaesong last month.

The talks came after the North ended a 10-month boycott of inter-Korean dialogue.