ID :
68528
Tue, 06/30/2009 - 22:32
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/68528
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea offers non-governmental meeting with S. Korea
SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has proposed a rare non-governmental
meeting with a South Korean organization to discuss joint projects amid chilled
ties, activists in Seoul said Tuesday.
The North Korean Committee for the June 15 Joint Declaration, which was
established after the first inter-Korean summit in 2000 to promote the
implementation of the summit accords, sent a letter to its South Korean
counterpart to propose a meeting between late July to early August in Shenyang,
China, they said.
"Celebrating the ninth anniversary of the June 15 joint declaration, we propose a
working-level meeting to discuss solidarity issues aimed at implementing
North-South statements at an agreed date," the North Korean committee said in the
letter.
The offer came as a rare gesture from the North, but it remains to be seen
whether the South Korean government will approve the trip. Seoul issued
restrictions on civic and humanitarian aid organizations visiting or
communicating with North Korea after the North's long-range rocket test in April.
The first summit between then President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim
Jong-il paved the way for a flurry of diplomatic, economic and cultural exchanges
between the two countries that technically remain at war. South Korea bolstered
its economic assistance pledges in the second summit in 2007 between then
President Roh Moo-hyun and Kim, promising to build roads, factories and modernize
North Korea's dilapidated industrial infrastructure
Taking a tougher stance on the communist neighbor, President Lee Myung-bak has
said he supports the summit accords but emphasized that the two sides should
first review whether they are economically viable.
The South Korean committee said it is an "unconventional case" that the North
first offered a meeting, even as the conflict between two sides seems to be
escalating.
"Considering the strained inter-Korea relations, we cannot guarantee that meeting
with North Koreans will be approved, but it is worth trying to talk to each
other," a leading member of the committee said, requesting anonymity.
"The government has not received approval request from the (South Korean
committee), but it will be reviewed as soon as it arrives," said an official at
the Unification Ministry.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
meeting with a South Korean organization to discuss joint projects amid chilled
ties, activists in Seoul said Tuesday.
The North Korean Committee for the June 15 Joint Declaration, which was
established after the first inter-Korean summit in 2000 to promote the
implementation of the summit accords, sent a letter to its South Korean
counterpart to propose a meeting between late July to early August in Shenyang,
China, they said.
"Celebrating the ninth anniversary of the June 15 joint declaration, we propose a
working-level meeting to discuss solidarity issues aimed at implementing
North-South statements at an agreed date," the North Korean committee said in the
letter.
The offer came as a rare gesture from the North, but it remains to be seen
whether the South Korean government will approve the trip. Seoul issued
restrictions on civic and humanitarian aid organizations visiting or
communicating with North Korea after the North's long-range rocket test in April.
The first summit between then President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim
Jong-il paved the way for a flurry of diplomatic, economic and cultural exchanges
between the two countries that technically remain at war. South Korea bolstered
its economic assistance pledges in the second summit in 2007 between then
President Roh Moo-hyun and Kim, promising to build roads, factories and modernize
North Korea's dilapidated industrial infrastructure
Taking a tougher stance on the communist neighbor, President Lee Myung-bak has
said he supports the summit accords but emphasized that the two sides should
first review whether they are economically viable.
The South Korean committee said it is an "unconventional case" that the North
first offered a meeting, even as the conflict between two sides seems to be
escalating.
"Considering the strained inter-Korea relations, we cannot guarantee that meeting
with North Koreans will be approved, but it is worth trying to talk to each
other," a leading member of the committee said, requesting anonymity.
"The government has not received approval request from the (South Korean
committee), but it will be reviewed as soon as it arrives," said an official at
the Unification Ministry.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
