FRANK SESNO, CNN ANCHOR: President Clinton is on his way home following a trip to Tokyo for the funeral of Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. While there Mr. Clinton met with some of his Asian counterparts to discuss next week's historic summit between North and South Korea and a possible breakthrough on that front. CNN White House correspondent Kelly Wallace reports from Tokyo.</s>KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Clinton and South Korean President Kim Dae-jung got right to business. No questions, because reporters were barred from this meeting, their focus: next week's historic summit between North and South Korea, the first meeting between leaders since the peninsula was divided more than 50 years ago. In advance of that summit, the White House is sending a signal to North Korea indicating it would have an announcement on easing some economic sanctions "very soon." A spokesman wouldn't give a timetable, but said the announcement was not contingent upon success at next week's meeting. North Korea sent shockwaves throughout the world two years ago when it launched a ballistic missile over Japan. The country hasn't launched any missiles since then, and agreed last year to a temporary moratorium in exchange for an easing of some sanctions. Last September, Mr. Clinton said the U.S. would relax some trade and investment sanctions if Pyongyang suspended the launches. But the main purpose of Mr. Clinton's Tokyo visit: remembering someone he considered a friend, Japan's late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi.</s>WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Prime Minister Obuchi represented to the whole world the Japanese virtues of honor and loyalty, vision and determination, love for, and commitment to ordinary people.</s>WALLACE: Before that statement to the people of Japan, the president also discussed the Korean summit with Japan's current prime minister, Yoshiro Mori. (on camera): While the White House is hopeful about next week's summit, it is also expressing some caution, saying that this is just a first step and that decades of conflict will not melt away in one meeting. Kelly Wallace, CNN, Tokyo.
Clinton Meets with Kim Dae-jung Ahead of Korea Summit