Unification minister to skip inter-Korean summit anniversary event

(ATTN: UPDATES with detail of vice minister's participation in para 5; RESTRUCTURES
throughout)
By Tony Chang
SEOUL, June 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's unification minister will not
participate in an annual event commemorating the first inter-Korean summit, a
ministry spokesperson said Wednesday, citing government talks with the North
planned for the same day.
"We notified the organizers that it would be difficult for the minister to
participate in the event," spokesperson Lee Jong-joo said at a daily press
briefing.
The spokesperson was referring to a private event scheduled for Thursday
commemorating the anniversary of the joint declaration signed June 15, 2000 by
then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
Officials from the two sides are scheduled to meet the same day to discuss the
future of the Kaesong park, which has been jeopardized by the North's unilateral
demands to revise contracts on the complex.
The ministry issued a brief statement later in the day saying Vice Minister Hong
Yang-ho will take part in the event.
High-level officials from previous administrations have usually accepted the
invitation to the annual event.
Despite the overlapping schedule, some watchers believe the minister's decision
not to attend was due to political calculations, considering the current
administration's hard-line stance on North Korea and deepening tension from
Pyongyang's recent nuclear and missile tests.
The summit anniversary event, organized by former officials involved in arranging
the summit, is expected to be attended by some 1,000 former officials, including
former President Kim and civic group leaders.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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