ID :
185937
Wed, 06/01/2011 - 17:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/185937
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea expresses regret over N. Korea's claim on summit talks
(ATTN: UPDATES with comments by pro-North Korean newspaper, analyst and South Korea's military; ADDS background)
SEOUL (Yonhap) - South Korea expressed deep regret Wednesday after North Korea alleged that Seoul requested a series of summit talks with Pyongyang, calling the North's allegations a "unilateral claim" not worthy of a response.
Seoul's move came hours after the North's powerful National Defense Commission revealed that the sides held secret talks last month when Seoul proposed holding three summit meetings -- first at the border village of Panmunjom in late June, second in Pyongyang in August and third in Seoul in March next year on the sidelines of an international security summit.
The commission headed by leader Kim Jong-il said that Seoul also proposed holding Cabinet-level talks in late May to lay the groundwork for summit talks.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said during a trip to Berlin last month that he was willing to invite Kim to next year's security summit in Seoul if Pyongyang firmly commits to nuclear disarmament.
Kim also extended the olive branch to Lee, saying he was prepared to hold a summit with Lee in a message conveyed by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in April.
Still, the secret meeting ended without agreement because the South repeated its demand that the North apologize for its two deadly attacks on the South last year, the North's commission said.
"The (North) side clarified its steadfast stand that such summit talks cannot take place as long as the South side insists on the hostile policy towards the (North)," the commission said in a comment carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency.
The North denies its involvement in the sinking of a South Korean war ship and said its shelling of a frontline South Korean island was part of its "self-defensive measure" against South Korea's military drills.
The North's commission also claimed the South "begged" for a concession from the North, saying it would be acceptable even if the North expresses "regret," not an apology, it said.
The South even offered an envelope of cash as an inducement, the North said without elaborating.
Seoul has made Pyongyang's apology for the two attacks that killed 50 South Koreans a key condition for improving inter-Korean relations and resuming the international talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs.
The Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, dismissed the alleged cash offer as "absurd," and denied that Seoul implored and begged the North for an apology over the two deadly attacks.
South Korea "did not formally make the detailed proposals" a Unification Ministry official said, referring to the alleged three summit meetings.
The disclosure came just days after Kim called for the easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula and a quick resumption of the nuclear talks during his recent talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing, and it suggests that Pyongyang has given up on relations with the South.
The Chosun Sinbo, a Tokyo-based newspaper seen as the mouthpiece of the communist regime in Pyongyang, said Seoul lost its status as a partner of the North, calling the commission's comment an "ultimatum" to Seoul.
Yoon Duk-min, a senior analyst at the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Security, a state-run think tank in Seoul, said the North's comment illustrates it is resisting the demands by Seoul and Washington for improved inter-Korean relations.
The North's defense commission said Monday it won't "deal with" the South any longer and threatened to retaliate against Seoul for anti-Pyongyang "psychological warfare," accusing Seoul of seeking confrontation with Pyongyang.
South Korea's military said there was no unusual military movement in North Korea and vowed to retaliate against the North if provoked.
Relations between the two sides have been tense since Lee took office in early 2008 with a policy to link unconditional aid to progress in international efforts to get North Korea to give up its nuclear programs.
The leaders of the two Koreas have so far held summit talks twice, first in 2000 and again in 2007.
SEOUL (Yonhap) - South Korea expressed deep regret Wednesday after North Korea alleged that Seoul requested a series of summit talks with Pyongyang, calling the North's allegations a "unilateral claim" not worthy of a response.
Seoul's move came hours after the North's powerful National Defense Commission revealed that the sides held secret talks last month when Seoul proposed holding three summit meetings -- first at the border village of Panmunjom in late June, second in Pyongyang in August and third in Seoul in March next year on the sidelines of an international security summit.
The commission headed by leader Kim Jong-il said that Seoul also proposed holding Cabinet-level talks in late May to lay the groundwork for summit talks.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said during a trip to Berlin last month that he was willing to invite Kim to next year's security summit in Seoul if Pyongyang firmly commits to nuclear disarmament.
Kim also extended the olive branch to Lee, saying he was prepared to hold a summit with Lee in a message conveyed by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in April.
Still, the secret meeting ended without agreement because the South repeated its demand that the North apologize for its two deadly attacks on the South last year, the North's commission said.
"The (North) side clarified its steadfast stand that such summit talks cannot take place as long as the South side insists on the hostile policy towards the (North)," the commission said in a comment carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency.
The North denies its involvement in the sinking of a South Korean war ship and said its shelling of a frontline South Korean island was part of its "self-defensive measure" against South Korea's military drills.
The North's commission also claimed the South "begged" for a concession from the North, saying it would be acceptable even if the North expresses "regret," not an apology, it said.
The South even offered an envelope of cash as an inducement, the North said without elaborating.
Seoul has made Pyongyang's apology for the two attacks that killed 50 South Koreans a key condition for improving inter-Korean relations and resuming the international talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs.
The Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, dismissed the alleged cash offer as "absurd," and denied that Seoul implored and begged the North for an apology over the two deadly attacks.
South Korea "did not formally make the detailed proposals" a Unification Ministry official said, referring to the alleged three summit meetings.
The disclosure came just days after Kim called for the easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula and a quick resumption of the nuclear talks during his recent talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing, and it suggests that Pyongyang has given up on relations with the South.
The Chosun Sinbo, a Tokyo-based newspaper seen as the mouthpiece of the communist regime in Pyongyang, said Seoul lost its status as a partner of the North, calling the commission's comment an "ultimatum" to Seoul.
Yoon Duk-min, a senior analyst at the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Security, a state-run think tank in Seoul, said the North's comment illustrates it is resisting the demands by Seoul and Washington for improved inter-Korean relations.
The North's defense commission said Monday it won't "deal with" the South any longer and threatened to retaliate against Seoul for anti-Pyongyang "psychological warfare," accusing Seoul of seeking confrontation with Pyongyang.
South Korea's military said there was no unusual military movement in North Korea and vowed to retaliate against the North if provoked.
Relations between the two sides have been tense since Lee took office in early 2008 with a policy to link unconditional aid to progress in international efforts to get North Korea to give up its nuclear programs.
The leaders of the two Koreas have so far held summit talks twice, first in 2000 and again in 2007.
