ID :
191935
Thu, 06/30/2011 - 07:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/191935
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NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 164 (June 30, 2011)
*** INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS
S. Korea Pushing to Open Integrated Information Center on N. Korea
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korea is pushing to build an open source-based center that will consolidate information on North Korea next year, an official said on June 23.
The envisioned center will collect scattered information made public by media reports, press releases and announcements by international organizations, said the official at the Unification Ministry handling inter-Korean affairs.
He said ordinary citizens can have access to the center as it would handle information and data already available on the Internet.
Separately, the ministry has been working to build a database of the North's geography, officials and other information on North Korea since last year.
The National Intelligence Service, Seoul's top spy agency, and other government agencies currently provide basic information on North Korea on their Web sites.
North Korea is one of the world's most closed societies, making it very difficult to get information about it.
------------------------
S. Korea Separates Apology Demand from Nuclear Talks with N. Korea
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korea is willing to hold a bilateral meeting with North Korea on a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula before resuming multilateral denuclearization talks, separating it from its adamant demand for an apology over last year's deadly attacks, a senior government official said on June 27.
The remark by the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, came after a flurry of diplomacy among South Korea, the U.S., China and other regional players to reopen stalled six-party talks on the North's nuclear programs. Improved inter-Korean relations are a key prerequisite for resuming the six-party forum which also involves Japan and Russia.
Inter-Korean tensions soared to their highest level in years in 2010 following the North's two attacks -- the sinking of the Cheonan warship and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island. In between the attacks, Pyongyang also revealed its new uranium enrichment facility.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed in Washington last week that Seoul and Pyongyang must hold bilateral talks ahead of any move to reopen the six-party talks, urging the North to show its sincerity toward denuclearization through concrete actions.
Kim told a local radio station on Monday that it is hard to believe the resumption of the nuclear talks is imminent.
Since early this year, South Korea has proposed holding bilateral talks with North Korea to gauge its sincerity on denuclearization, but Pyongyang has yet to respond to the offer.
"The issues of the Cheonan warship and Yeonpyeong Island are not a prerequisite for the proposed denuclearization talks between South and North Korea," said the official, who recently held consultations with the U.S. over the North's nuclear issue.
"If North Korea accepts, the talks could immediately open," the official said.
When asked about an apology from the North over the two attacks, the official indicated that South Korea could discuss the issue with North Korea at another bilateral meeting, such as inter-Korean military talks or through other channels.
"Our stance is that we are always open to a dialogue," the official said, adding Seoul expects Pyongyang to "positively" respond to the proposal to hold inter-Korean talks on denuclearization.
South Korea is pitching a three-step approach to the stalled six-party talks. It calls for North Korea to meet South Korea first and then the U.S. before reopening the multilateral forum that has been dormant for more than two years.
Still, the prospects for holding inter-Korean talks on denuclearization remain uncertain since North Korea has so far used its nuclear weapons programs as important leverage to improve ties with the U.S., not South Korea.
Regional powers are also wary of the North's intention to return to the multilateral talks, given its pattern of carrying out provocations and then winning concessions through negotiations.
Meanwhile, North Korea on June 28 made a virtual rejection of South Korean efforts to hold a bilateral meeting with North Korea before resuming multilateral denuclearization talks by separating the request from its demand for an apology over last year's deadly attacks.
In response, Minju Joson, the North's Cabinet newspaper, denounced the South's flexible approach as a "stupid trick to avoid criticism at home and abroad."
The North's newspaper accused South Korea of "deteriorating inter-Korean relations by making an issue of the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong incidents and putting the brakes on the resumption of North Korea-U.S. talks and the six-party negotiations."
The North's latest criticism is expected to further dim hopes for reopening the six-party forum to persuade Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program in return for aid and diplomatic recognition.
Saying the "Lee Myung-bak group of traitors told media that it would not link the 'Cheonan' warship sinking case and the Yeonpyeong Island shelling case with the north-south denuclearization talks," Minju Joson said "there is nothing to be expected from the Lee group as it is making desperate efforts to save its policy of confrontation with the DPRK (North Korea) from its total failure."
(END)
S. Korea Pushing to Open Integrated Information Center on N. Korea
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korea is pushing to build an open source-based center that will consolidate information on North Korea next year, an official said on June 23.
The envisioned center will collect scattered information made public by media reports, press releases and announcements by international organizations, said the official at the Unification Ministry handling inter-Korean affairs.
He said ordinary citizens can have access to the center as it would handle information and data already available on the Internet.
Separately, the ministry has been working to build a database of the North's geography, officials and other information on North Korea since last year.
The National Intelligence Service, Seoul's top spy agency, and other government agencies currently provide basic information on North Korea on their Web sites.
North Korea is one of the world's most closed societies, making it very difficult to get information about it.
------------------------
S. Korea Separates Apology Demand from Nuclear Talks with N. Korea
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korea is willing to hold a bilateral meeting with North Korea on a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula before resuming multilateral denuclearization talks, separating it from its adamant demand for an apology over last year's deadly attacks, a senior government official said on June 27.
The remark by the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, came after a flurry of diplomacy among South Korea, the U.S., China and other regional players to reopen stalled six-party talks on the North's nuclear programs. Improved inter-Korean relations are a key prerequisite for resuming the six-party forum which also involves Japan and Russia.
Inter-Korean tensions soared to their highest level in years in 2010 following the North's two attacks -- the sinking of the Cheonan warship and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island. In between the attacks, Pyongyang also revealed its new uranium enrichment facility.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed in Washington last week that Seoul and Pyongyang must hold bilateral talks ahead of any move to reopen the six-party talks, urging the North to show its sincerity toward denuclearization through concrete actions.
Kim told a local radio station on Monday that it is hard to believe the resumption of the nuclear talks is imminent.
Since early this year, South Korea has proposed holding bilateral talks with North Korea to gauge its sincerity on denuclearization, but Pyongyang has yet to respond to the offer.
"The issues of the Cheonan warship and Yeonpyeong Island are not a prerequisite for the proposed denuclearization talks between South and North Korea," said the official, who recently held consultations with the U.S. over the North's nuclear issue.
"If North Korea accepts, the talks could immediately open," the official said.
When asked about an apology from the North over the two attacks, the official indicated that South Korea could discuss the issue with North Korea at another bilateral meeting, such as inter-Korean military talks or through other channels.
"Our stance is that we are always open to a dialogue," the official said, adding Seoul expects Pyongyang to "positively" respond to the proposal to hold inter-Korean talks on denuclearization.
South Korea is pitching a three-step approach to the stalled six-party talks. It calls for North Korea to meet South Korea first and then the U.S. before reopening the multilateral forum that has been dormant for more than two years.
Still, the prospects for holding inter-Korean talks on denuclearization remain uncertain since North Korea has so far used its nuclear weapons programs as important leverage to improve ties with the U.S., not South Korea.
Regional powers are also wary of the North's intention to return to the multilateral talks, given its pattern of carrying out provocations and then winning concessions through negotiations.
Meanwhile, North Korea on June 28 made a virtual rejection of South Korean efforts to hold a bilateral meeting with North Korea before resuming multilateral denuclearization talks by separating the request from its demand for an apology over last year's deadly attacks.
In response, Minju Joson, the North's Cabinet newspaper, denounced the South's flexible approach as a "stupid trick to avoid criticism at home and abroad."
The North's newspaper accused South Korea of "deteriorating inter-Korean relations by making an issue of the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong incidents and putting the brakes on the resumption of North Korea-U.S. talks and the six-party negotiations."
The North's latest criticism is expected to further dim hopes for reopening the six-party forum to persuade Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program in return for aid and diplomatic recognition.
Saying the "Lee Myung-bak group of traitors told media that it would not link the 'Cheonan' warship sinking case and the Yeonpyeong Island shelling case with the north-south denuclearization talks," Minju Joson said "there is nothing to be expected from the Lee group as it is making desperate efforts to save its policy of confrontation with the DPRK (North Korea) from its total failure."
(END)
