S. Korea, U.S. set up contingency plan on N. Korea: RFA

SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- A group of officials from South Korea and the United
States developed joint plans to brace for all potential contingencies in North
Korea in a closed meeting held in Hawaii last August, U.S. international
broadcaster Radio Free Asia (RFA) said Friday.
The meeting held Aug. 4-5 was attended by 12 South Korean government officials
including top nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac and 12 U.S. government officials,
including chief nuclear negotiator Sung Kim, RFA said.
During the meeting, they discussed policies and measures to cope with possible
contingencies in North Korea such as the death of the North Korean leader and a
regime change, the radio said.
The two countries agreed that South Korea will play a pivotal role in tackling
contingencies in North Korea, and they will combine forces to establish a unified
Korea based on liberal democracy if North Korea collapses, seeking cooperation
from China, it said.
To that end, Seoul and Washington reached an agreement to share information on
North Korea and to set up an alert system on sudden changes in the country.
They will also map out plans to prepare for mass defections from North Korea and
join forces to control nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction as
soon as possible, as well as prevent North Korean military actions against South
Korea.
It was the first time that Seoul and Washington discussed countermeasures against
contingencies in North Korea, while they had formed a consensus on the need to
establish contingency plans against North Korea in bilateral meetings of foreign
officials in September 2008 and April this year, RFA said, quoting a source
familiar with the matter.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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