NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 158

(May 19, 2011) *** INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS N. Korean Wrestlers Could Visit S. Korea Next Year: Official SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korean wrestlers could come to South Korea early next year for a continental competition, an official in Seoul said on May 12. "South Korea will host the Asian Wrestling Championships from Feb. 16 to 19 next year, and there's a high possibility that North Korea will enter the event," an official with the Seoul-based Korea Wrestling Federation said. South Korea was named the host of the regional event last fall at the general assembly of the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA). The host city is expected to be decided by the end of May. South Korean officials believe North Korea will announce its participation in the Asian event during this year's FILA meeting in Turkey in September. Officials added that since only the countries that compete in the Asian championship can enter the regional qualifications for the 2012 London Olympics, North Korean wrestlers are likely to make the southbound trip. Wrestlers who rank among the top six in their weight classes at the world championships this September will qualify for the London Games. Others will have to go through three stages of continental qualifications next year. North Korea has grabbed nine Olympic medals, including three gold, in wrestling, more than any other sport. North Korea sent its wrestling delegation to Jeju Island in southern South Korea for the 2008 Asian championships. The last time North Korean athletes competed on South Korean soil in any sporting event was back in April 2009, when the two Koreas met during the Asian qualifications for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The two remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. ------------------------ Number of North Korean Defectors in South Korea Tops 21,000 SEOUL (Yonhap) -- The number of North Korean defectors coming to South Korea topped the 21,000 mark in April in the five months since November last year, government officials said on May 14. According to the Unification Ministry, the number of North Koreans defecting to South Korea came to 21,165 as of April 17. The number of North Korean defectors in South Korea breached the 20,000 mark for the first time in November last year. The number has been on the rise since 2005, aside from a decrease in 2010. Last year, 2,423 North Koreans defectors came to South Korea, slightly down from 2,927 in 2009. About 40 percent of the defectors who recently settled in South Korea were accompanied by their family members, a change from the earlier trend of defecting alone. By age group, people in their 30s accounted for the largest with 32.5 percent, followed by those in their 20s at 27.4 percent and 40s at 15.2 percent. More than 65 percent of the defectors are living in Seoul and its adjacent areas. North Koreans have been leaving their impoverished homeland, usually seeking refuge first in China before finding a way out to a third country. Unification Minister Hyun In-taek said in October last year that some 100,000 North Koreans are estimated to be hiding in China. Aid groups say there are at least 200,000. (Yonhap News) ------------------------ N. Korea Formally Notified of President Lee's Invitation for Kim Jong-il SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korea formally conveyed President Lee Myung-bak's offer to invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to a major international security summit in Seoul next year during recent contact with Pyongyang, an official said on May 18. Lee unveiled the proposal during a visit to Berlin on May 9, saying he would invite Kim to next year's Nuclear Security Summit of about 50 world leaders if Pyongyang firmly commits to nuclear disarmament and apologizes for last year's two deadly attacks on the South. "The genuine intention of our government has been delivered to the North," presidential spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung said, adding that there was person-to-person contact with the North after Lee made the proposal. Kim Hee-jung declined to give more details, such as who was involved and where the sides met. "We hope there will be more specific discussions between the South and the North if there is an opportunity in the future," the official said. The North's initial reaction to the proposal was negative. A couple of days after Lee announced the proposal, Pyongyang's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, a propaganda outlet, denounced it as "ridiculous" and an attempt to disarm and invade the socialist nation with the United States. But South Korean officials said they do not consider the reaction as an official response. Analysts said chances of North Korea accepting the offer are low, and the proposal appears to be aimed at pressuring the North to make a strategic choice to give up its nuclear ambitions and break the deadlock in inter-Korean relations. ------------------------ South Korean Christians Deliver Unauthorized Food Aid to North Korea SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korean Christians delivered unauthorized food shipments to North Korea on May 18, a case that highlights deep divisions in the South over aid to the North, which is suffering from chronic food shortages. Six trucks loaded with 172 tons of flour worth 100 million won (US$91,700) left the Chinese border city of Dandong for North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, according to the National Council of Churches in Korea in Seoul. The aid was sent to the North through the Amity Foundation, a Chinese aid group. Two of its officials plan to travel to Pyongyang around June 1 to deliver flour and monitor its distribution to ensure that the food reaches those in need. There have been widespread allegations that the North has diverted outside food aid to its elite and military, a key backbone of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's rule. The shipments came two months after the council officials reached an agreement on flour aid with their North Korean counterparts during their unauthorized contact in Beijing. South Korean laws ban the country's citizens from contacting North Korean officials without government approval. South Korea was one of the major donors to its impoverished northern neighbor for years. But Seoul halted unconditional aid in 2008 and tightened its sanctions on the North last year in retaliation to the communist nation's two deadly attacks on the South that killed 50 South Koreans. South Korea has since selectively approved humanitarian and medical aid to North Korea by private aid groups. The groups have called on the government to resume food aid to the North. But the South Korean government showed no sign of easing its stance on food aid, noting inter-Korean situations should be taken into account on the issue. The United Nations in April appealed for 430,000 tons of food for North Korea to feed 6 million vulnerable people. Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special envoy for North Korea, held a series of talks with South Korean officials in Seoul this week to discuss possible food aid to North Korea and the resumption of six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear programs. He said on May 17 that Seoul and Washington have "a common view" on food aid to North Korea, which has relied heavily on international handouts since a massive famine hit in the mid-1990s. (END)