ID :
204699
Thu, 09/01/2011 - 12:55
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https://oananews.org//node/204699
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NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 173 (September 1, 2011)
*** INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS
South Korean Firms Plan Flour Aid for Flood Victims in Kaesong
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korean firms operating in an inter-Korean industrial complex plan to send flour aid to North Korean flood victims in their host city of Kaesong, an official said on Aug. 25.
The move comes after South Korean civic groups gained government approval last month to send more than 2,000 tons of flour to poverty-stricken North Koreans, enabling the first deliveries of flour since Pyongyang's deadly attack on a frontline island last November. Seoul had been reluctant to resume flour aid amid widespread allegations it is diverted to Pyongyang's military or ruling elites.
"We plan to send 100 million won (US$92,115) worth of flour on humanitarian grounds to the Kaesong area, which was hit hard by floods this year," said an official of an association of South Korean firms at the factory park. "We will apply to the Ministry of Unification next week for approval," the official added, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs in the South, is expected to conduct a careful review of the request in light of the sanctions Seoul imposed on North Korea last year for the island shelling and the March sinking of a South Korean warship, which together killed a total of 50 South Koreans.
The sum was donated last year by some 120 South Korean firms operating in the industrial zone. It was originally earmarked for rice aid for last summer's flood victims, but the plan was put off as inter-Korean relations tumbled to their lowest point in decades.
The firms plan to deliver the flour to daycare centers and other facilities throughout Kaesong, which lies on the border with the South.
North Korea recently reported dozens of deaths and injuries from heavy rains that pounded the country throughout the summer. The floods also reportedly submerged thousands of hectares of farmland and destroyed large numbers of houses in the North, which has repeatedly suffered from flooding due to its lack of investment in disaster control and severe deforestation.
The industrial complex in Kaesong, an achievement of the first-ever inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang in 2000, combines South Korea's capital and technology with the North's cheap labor to produce clothes, utensils, watches and other goods.
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Koreas, Russia to Hold Talks on Gas Pipeline Project in November
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Working-level officials of the two Koreas and Russia are expected to meet in November to discuss a proposal for the construction of a gas pipeline that would ship Russian natural gas through the Korean Peninsula, the South's ruling party chief said on Aug. 30, expressing hope that the joint economic project would help improve soured inter-Korean ties.
Rep. Hong Joon-pyo of the Grand National Party (GNP) unveiled the plan after Russia and North Korea last week made progress on a Russian proposal to ship large amounts of Siberian natural gas to the South via a pipeline to be built across the North.
As Seoul had already made a bilateral agreement with the Kremlin over the project, Hong expressed hope that a trilateral meeting scheduled in November would push forward the lucrative energy project.
"By November, Russia's natural gas will be delivered through a pipeline to (South Korea's) east coastal area via North Korea. Large-scale construction work will begin," Hong said in a party forum. "The project would open a new chapter for inter-Korean relations."
Hong did not specify who will participate in the negotiation, noting it could be either the government or the state-run Korea Gas Corp.
Once North Korea opens the door, Hong said it could give shape to the long-stalled trans-Siberian railway project, which was initiated by the Kim Dae-jung administration.
If realized, the key project could help ease tensions on the peninsula and bring much-needed hard currency to the impoverished North and bring Asia's fourth-largest economy cheaper imports gas, he added.
But analysts question whether the pipeline will be feasible considering the questionable trustworthiness of the socialist regime. Many in the South feel there is a major risk that Pyongyang will shut off the gas pipeline or siphon off gas if relations become difficult.
------------------------
S. Korea to Call for Int'l Boycott of Tours to N. Korean Mountain Resort
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korea will ask the United States, China and Japan to prevent their citizens from visiting a troubled mountain resort in North Korea, a Seoul official said on Aug. 30.
The move comes as the socialist country is seeking to attract foreign tourists to Mount Kumgang as part of its attempts to revitalize the stalled resort.
North Korea invited a group of foreign business executives and journalists to the resort earlier this week to explain its plans to develop the resort as a zone for international tours and business.
On Aug. 30, the KCNA said that the North launched a new tour program taking international tourists from the northeastern port city of Rason to the scenic mountain via a sea route and the five-day program "is drawing deep interest of foreigners."
After a launching ceremony, the cargo-passenger Mangyongbong left Rason for a port near the mountain, full of tourists, including reporters from China, Russia, France and the U.S., the KCNA said.
South and North Korea launched the joint cross-border tour program in 1998 as a key symbol of fledging reconciliation on the divided Korean Peninsula.
Seoul paid millions of dollars to Pyongyang through the program that brought nearly 2 million South Koreans to the resort before the Seoul government halted tours in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean tourist near the resort.
Last week, the North expelled South Korean workers from the resort as it vowed to legally dispose of all South Korean assets there worth about US$375 million.
South Korea has vowed to take legal and diplomatic steps to protect its property rights in the resort.
On Aug. 30, a government official told reporters that Seoul will ask the U.S., China and Japan to prevent their nationals from visiting the resort. The official did not give a time frame for the diplomatic request and asked not to be identified, citing office policy.
He also predicted that no foreign companies would invest in the North's resort, as there could be a legal dispute over Pyongyang's unilateral move to dispose of South Korean assets.
------------------------
Unification Minister Nominee Pledges Flexibility toward North Korea
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- The nominee to lead South Korea's policy toward North Korea said on Aug. 31 that he will explore ways to exert "flexibility" in dealing with the communist neighbor.
"I plan to maintain the government's stance toward the North in a consistent manner," Yu Woo-ik said. "Still, I will ponder if there could be room to exercise flexibility, if necessary for substantial development of inter-Korean ties."
He made the comment in a brief meeting with reporters after being tapped to become the next unification minister in a Cabinet reshuffle on Aug. 30.
Yu, who served as chief of staff for President Lee Myung-bak and later Seoul's ambassador to China, will replace Hyun In-taek, who championed a hard-line stance on North Korea for more than two years.
An official appointment is expected to take weeks as the nominee has to appear before parliamentary confirmation hearings seen largely as a formality.
The North has warned inter-Korean ties won't be repaired as long as Hyun stays in office, denouncing him as "despicable human scum" and a "traitor."
The replacement has raised guarded hope that Seoul could try to improve relations with Pyongyang amid diplomatic efforts to resume long-stalled talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.
South Korean Firms Plan Flour Aid for Flood Victims in Kaesong
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korean firms operating in an inter-Korean industrial complex plan to send flour aid to North Korean flood victims in their host city of Kaesong, an official said on Aug. 25.
The move comes after South Korean civic groups gained government approval last month to send more than 2,000 tons of flour to poverty-stricken North Koreans, enabling the first deliveries of flour since Pyongyang's deadly attack on a frontline island last November. Seoul had been reluctant to resume flour aid amid widespread allegations it is diverted to Pyongyang's military or ruling elites.
"We plan to send 100 million won (US$92,115) worth of flour on humanitarian grounds to the Kaesong area, which was hit hard by floods this year," said an official of an association of South Korean firms at the factory park. "We will apply to the Ministry of Unification next week for approval," the official added, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs in the South, is expected to conduct a careful review of the request in light of the sanctions Seoul imposed on North Korea last year for the island shelling and the March sinking of a South Korean warship, which together killed a total of 50 South Koreans.
The sum was donated last year by some 120 South Korean firms operating in the industrial zone. It was originally earmarked for rice aid for last summer's flood victims, but the plan was put off as inter-Korean relations tumbled to their lowest point in decades.
The firms plan to deliver the flour to daycare centers and other facilities throughout Kaesong, which lies on the border with the South.
North Korea recently reported dozens of deaths and injuries from heavy rains that pounded the country throughout the summer. The floods also reportedly submerged thousands of hectares of farmland and destroyed large numbers of houses in the North, which has repeatedly suffered from flooding due to its lack of investment in disaster control and severe deforestation.
The industrial complex in Kaesong, an achievement of the first-ever inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang in 2000, combines South Korea's capital and technology with the North's cheap labor to produce clothes, utensils, watches and other goods.
------------------------
Koreas, Russia to Hold Talks on Gas Pipeline Project in November
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Working-level officials of the two Koreas and Russia are expected to meet in November to discuss a proposal for the construction of a gas pipeline that would ship Russian natural gas through the Korean Peninsula, the South's ruling party chief said on Aug. 30, expressing hope that the joint economic project would help improve soured inter-Korean ties.
Rep. Hong Joon-pyo of the Grand National Party (GNP) unveiled the plan after Russia and North Korea last week made progress on a Russian proposal to ship large amounts of Siberian natural gas to the South via a pipeline to be built across the North.
As Seoul had already made a bilateral agreement with the Kremlin over the project, Hong expressed hope that a trilateral meeting scheduled in November would push forward the lucrative energy project.
"By November, Russia's natural gas will be delivered through a pipeline to (South Korea's) east coastal area via North Korea. Large-scale construction work will begin," Hong said in a party forum. "The project would open a new chapter for inter-Korean relations."
Hong did not specify who will participate in the negotiation, noting it could be either the government or the state-run Korea Gas Corp.
Once North Korea opens the door, Hong said it could give shape to the long-stalled trans-Siberian railway project, which was initiated by the Kim Dae-jung administration.
If realized, the key project could help ease tensions on the peninsula and bring much-needed hard currency to the impoverished North and bring Asia's fourth-largest economy cheaper imports gas, he added.
But analysts question whether the pipeline will be feasible considering the questionable trustworthiness of the socialist regime. Many in the South feel there is a major risk that Pyongyang will shut off the gas pipeline or siphon off gas if relations become difficult.
------------------------
S. Korea to Call for Int'l Boycott of Tours to N. Korean Mountain Resort
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korea will ask the United States, China and Japan to prevent their citizens from visiting a troubled mountain resort in North Korea, a Seoul official said on Aug. 30.
The move comes as the socialist country is seeking to attract foreign tourists to Mount Kumgang as part of its attempts to revitalize the stalled resort.
North Korea invited a group of foreign business executives and journalists to the resort earlier this week to explain its plans to develop the resort as a zone for international tours and business.
On Aug. 30, the KCNA said that the North launched a new tour program taking international tourists from the northeastern port city of Rason to the scenic mountain via a sea route and the five-day program "is drawing deep interest of foreigners."
After a launching ceremony, the cargo-passenger Mangyongbong left Rason for a port near the mountain, full of tourists, including reporters from China, Russia, France and the U.S., the KCNA said.
South and North Korea launched the joint cross-border tour program in 1998 as a key symbol of fledging reconciliation on the divided Korean Peninsula.
Seoul paid millions of dollars to Pyongyang through the program that brought nearly 2 million South Koreans to the resort before the Seoul government halted tours in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean tourist near the resort.
Last week, the North expelled South Korean workers from the resort as it vowed to legally dispose of all South Korean assets there worth about US$375 million.
South Korea has vowed to take legal and diplomatic steps to protect its property rights in the resort.
On Aug. 30, a government official told reporters that Seoul will ask the U.S., China and Japan to prevent their nationals from visiting the resort. The official did not give a time frame for the diplomatic request and asked not to be identified, citing office policy.
He also predicted that no foreign companies would invest in the North's resort, as there could be a legal dispute over Pyongyang's unilateral move to dispose of South Korean assets.
------------------------
Unification Minister Nominee Pledges Flexibility toward North Korea
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- The nominee to lead South Korea's policy toward North Korea said on Aug. 31 that he will explore ways to exert "flexibility" in dealing with the communist neighbor.
"I plan to maintain the government's stance toward the North in a consistent manner," Yu Woo-ik said. "Still, I will ponder if there could be room to exercise flexibility, if necessary for substantial development of inter-Korean ties."
He made the comment in a brief meeting with reporters after being tapped to become the next unification minister in a Cabinet reshuffle on Aug. 30.
Yu, who served as chief of staff for President Lee Myung-bak and later Seoul's ambassador to China, will replace Hyun In-taek, who championed a hard-line stance on North Korea for more than two years.
An official appointment is expected to take weeks as the nominee has to appear before parliamentary confirmation hearings seen largely as a formality.
The North has warned inter-Korean ties won't be repaired as long as Hyun stays in office, denouncing him as "despicable human scum" and a "traitor."
The replacement has raised guarded hope that Seoul could try to improve relations with Pyongyang amid diplomatic efforts to resume long-stalled talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.
