Kyodo news summary -3-

---------- S., N. Korea agree to seek formal end to Korean War, up relationship

SEOUL - South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, in an eight-point declaration signed Thursday in Pyongyang, agreed to seek talks with the United States, China and possibly others with the aim of formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War.

The Korean War ended with a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.

---------- Gap between Cambodia's urban areas and the rural poor still growing

PHNOM PENH - Amid Cambodia's pride in its economic growth over the last three years, the gap between the country's urban areas and the rural poor continues to grow, according to a report released Thursday.

''Of the one-third of the country's population that lives below the poverty line, 90 percent live and work in rural areas. Most worrisome, the gap in living standard between the large numbers of rural poor and urban elites has continued to widen rapidly, as has the gap between the rural poor and a minority of rural rich,'' according to the report, ''Expanding Choices for Rural People,'' by Cambodia's Ministry's of Planning and the U.N. Development Program.

---------- LDP OKs 6-month extension of sanctions on N. Korea

TOKYO - The governing Liberal Democratic Party endorsed a government policy Thursday of extending part of Japan's sanctions on North Korea for another six months from Oct. 14, citing the lack of a breakthrough on the issues of North Korea's nuclear ambitions and its abductions of Japanese nationals.

The Cabinet is expected to formalize the extension Tuesday, government officials said. The sanctions to be extended are included in a set of punitive measures Japan slapped on North Korea following Pyongyang's nuclear test and test-launch of ballistic missiles last year, including a ban on North Korean-flagged ships entering Japanese ports and all imports from the country.