S. Korea says U.N. sanctions will not affect Kaesong complex

SEOUL, June 7 (Yonhap) -- An expected resolution by the U.N. condemning North
Korea's second nuclear test last month will not affect operations at an
inter-Korean industrial complex in the North, South Korea said Sunday, amid
heightened regional tensions.

Key powers on the United Nations Security Council are anticipated to reach an
agreement shortly on financial and diplomatic sanctions against Pyongyang for
defying a U.N. resolution by detonating a second nuclear device on May 25.
"We are currently discussing with Security Council members about excluding any
remarks that may affect the Kaesong industrial park (on the resolution)," a Seoul
official said on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to
speak about the issue. "Although the U.N. agreement will pose financial
restrictions on the North, humanitarian aid and ordinary trade activities must
not be harmed."
Seoul's decision to insulate the industrial complex in the North Korean border
city of Kaesong from the effects of U.N. sanctions comes just days ahead of an
inter-Korean meeting which North Korea proposed in a rare gesture last week.
The joint venture, about an hour's drive from Seoul, is the last remaining
inter-Korean economic project resulting from a summit meeting between then South
Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
The June 11 dialogue comes as South Korea's military is on heightened alert along
the inter-Korean border. North Korea warned of military clashes along their
western sea border, the site of two bloody skirmishes in 1999 and 2002, in
response to South Korea's participation in a U.S.-led anti-proliferation
campaign.
North Korea also appears to be preparing for medium and long-range missile tests
following its second nuclear test, Seoul officials say.
The five permanent U.N. Security Council members -- the United States, Britain,
France, China and Russia -- and Japan and South Korea, who are not council
members, unanimously condemned North Korea's atomic test, saying it was a
violation of international law.
The seven key players plan to finalize the resolution later this week, which will
include restrictions on North Korea's financial and banking relations, flights
and arms trade with the outside world.
The South Korean government on Sunday delivered to the communist state a list of
10 people, including Kim Young-tak, director general of the Kaesong Industrial
Complex Project Bureau under the Unification Ministry, who will be attending the
upcoming meeting.
The talks, proposed by the North's government unit overseeing the joint park,
will be the second inter-Korean meeting since conservative President Lee
Myung-bak took office in February last year.
Pyongyang cut off dialogue soon after Lee's inauguration in protest over his
tough stance toward its nuclear program and suspension of aid.
An earlier meeting in April between the two sides collapsed over differences on
the agenda, with Pyongyang refusing to discuss the case of a detained South
Korean worker held in the North since March.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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