Unification minister invites predecessors over joint park, N.K. tension

SEOUL, June 29 (Yonhap) -- Unification Minister Hyun In-taek will host a meeting
with over a dozen of his predecessors later Monday to discuss political tensions
with North Korea and a troubled joint industrial park, his office said.
The closed-door consultation meeting comes as South Korea heads Thursday to a
third round of inter-Korean talks over the park in the North's border town of
Kaesong. Two previous rounds made little progress, with Pyongyang demanding a
hefty wage and rent raise but refusing to discuss a detained South Korean worker.
"At the meeting, the minister will outline the South Korean government's position
on its North Korean policy, the Kaesong industrial complex and other current
issues and will exchange opinions with his predecessors," his ministry said in a
release.
Among the 13 participants are some of the staunchest critics of the conservative
Lee Myung-bak government including Chung Dong-young, who spearheaded engagement
with North Korea from 2004 to 2005 under the liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration,
and Park Jae-kyu who served from 1999 to 2001 under then President Kim Dae-jung.
Taking office last year, Lee adopted a tougher stance than previous presidents
over the North's nuclear weapons program and ended unconditional rice and
fertilizer aid to the North that had continued for nearly a decade.
The hardline shift won support from conservatives at home, but liberals and
non-governmental groups hold Lee responsible for deteriorating inter-Korean
relations.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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