ID :
84694
Thu, 10/15/2009 - 17:49
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/84694
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea hints at rice aid to North after family reunion talks
(ATTN: MODIFIES lead, UPDATES with more quotes, remarks by former N.K. Red Cross
chief, growing call for aid, poor harvests in N. Korea, expert's view)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea may give humanitarian aid to North Korea
if their talks on cross-border family reunions make progress, Seoul's unification
minister suggested Thursday, showing a subtle shift in Seoul's stance on
state-level assistance to the North.
Following an earlier successful dialogue on flood control, the Koreas will meet
again on Friday to set up a new round of reunions for families separated by the
1950-53 Korean War. The reconciliatory mood came as Pyongyang toned down its
previous hard-line foreign policy that yielded nuclear and missile tests earlier
this year.
The family reunion talks, arranged by Red Cross offices of both sides, are
drawing keen attention over whether South Korea would respond to the North's
reported calls for rice and other humanitarian aid.
"It's not appropriate for me to comment yet," Hyun told reporters after a
luncheon with European business leaders in Seoul.
"Various issues will be put to discussion in the Red Cross meeting tomorrow, and
we have to see (the results)," he said, pressed by reporters over whether there
is any plan to resume rice aid after the talks. "We will decide, depending on the
developments."
Hyun's remarks indicated a somewhat softened position by Seoul on
government-level assistance, which stopped after President Lee Myung-bak took
office last year, linking inter-Korean exchanges to Pyongyang's denuclearization.
Under U.N. sanctions over its second nuclear test in May, North Korea has
recently been nudging the South to resume the humanitarian aid. In the latest
round of family reunions at the North's Mount Kumgang resort late last month, the
North's Red Cross chief, Jang Jae-on, asked his South Korean counterpart, Yoo
Chong-ha, whether Seoul could "extend its good will in return" for the reunions.
North Korea is again expected to raise the aid issue at the upcoming talks, said
ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo.
Aid workers say the volume of this year's rice and corn harvests in the North
will fall sharply from lack of fertilizer. Over the past decade, Lee's liberal
predecessors had provided 400,000 tons of rice and 300,000 tons of fertilizer
annually to help resolve food shortages in the North.
In the South, opposition and some ruling party politicians, as well as farmers,
are pressing for the resumption of rice aid to the North as one of the solutions
to stop rice prices from falling further at home.
Koh Yu-hwan, a professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, said he expects a "small
amount" of rice to be shipped to the North after the Red Cross talks. But any
major assistance will not be possible until North Korea takes a visible step
toward denuclearization, he said.
"Given that there has been no assistance at all, it's a small change," he said.
"The government will open doors of humanitarian aid on the semi-governmental Red
Cross level first, and then move on to state-level aid if the North makes a
sincere step toward denuclearization. This time, it won't be more than a few
tons."
Cross-border dialogue was proceeding despite military threats by North Korea,
which fired five short-range missiles Monday. On Thursday, it accused South Korea
of intruding into its waters and warned there will be clashes if intrusions
continue.
"It is clear to everyone what consequences the third skirmish in the West Sea of
Korea will entail," the North's navy said. Two bloody clashes occurred there in
1999 and 2002, claiming scores of lives on both sides.
The latest round of family reunions, held in late September, was the first in
nearly two years. Seoul hopes to arrange new rounds next month and again for
Lunar New Year's Day in February.
In a rare gesture to patch up frayed ties with the South, North Korea apologized
Wednesday for the deaths of six South Koreans who were swept away by a flash
flood after the North abruptly opened a dam last month.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
chief, growing call for aid, poor harvests in N. Korea, expert's view)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea may give humanitarian aid to North Korea
if their talks on cross-border family reunions make progress, Seoul's unification
minister suggested Thursday, showing a subtle shift in Seoul's stance on
state-level assistance to the North.
Following an earlier successful dialogue on flood control, the Koreas will meet
again on Friday to set up a new round of reunions for families separated by the
1950-53 Korean War. The reconciliatory mood came as Pyongyang toned down its
previous hard-line foreign policy that yielded nuclear and missile tests earlier
this year.
The family reunion talks, arranged by Red Cross offices of both sides, are
drawing keen attention over whether South Korea would respond to the North's
reported calls for rice and other humanitarian aid.
"It's not appropriate for me to comment yet," Hyun told reporters after a
luncheon with European business leaders in Seoul.
"Various issues will be put to discussion in the Red Cross meeting tomorrow, and
we have to see (the results)," he said, pressed by reporters over whether there
is any plan to resume rice aid after the talks. "We will decide, depending on the
developments."
Hyun's remarks indicated a somewhat softened position by Seoul on
government-level assistance, which stopped after President Lee Myung-bak took
office last year, linking inter-Korean exchanges to Pyongyang's denuclearization.
Under U.N. sanctions over its second nuclear test in May, North Korea has
recently been nudging the South to resume the humanitarian aid. In the latest
round of family reunions at the North's Mount Kumgang resort late last month, the
North's Red Cross chief, Jang Jae-on, asked his South Korean counterpart, Yoo
Chong-ha, whether Seoul could "extend its good will in return" for the reunions.
North Korea is again expected to raise the aid issue at the upcoming talks, said
ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo.
Aid workers say the volume of this year's rice and corn harvests in the North
will fall sharply from lack of fertilizer. Over the past decade, Lee's liberal
predecessors had provided 400,000 tons of rice and 300,000 tons of fertilizer
annually to help resolve food shortages in the North.
In the South, opposition and some ruling party politicians, as well as farmers,
are pressing for the resumption of rice aid to the North as one of the solutions
to stop rice prices from falling further at home.
Koh Yu-hwan, a professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, said he expects a "small
amount" of rice to be shipped to the North after the Red Cross talks. But any
major assistance will not be possible until North Korea takes a visible step
toward denuclearization, he said.
"Given that there has been no assistance at all, it's a small change," he said.
"The government will open doors of humanitarian aid on the semi-governmental Red
Cross level first, and then move on to state-level aid if the North makes a
sincere step toward denuclearization. This time, it won't be more than a few
tons."
Cross-border dialogue was proceeding despite military threats by North Korea,
which fired five short-range missiles Monday. On Thursday, it accused South Korea
of intruding into its waters and warned there will be clashes if intrusions
continue.
"It is clear to everyone what consequences the third skirmish in the West Sea of
Korea will entail," the North's navy said. Two bloody clashes occurred there in
1999 and 2002, claiming scores of lives on both sides.
The latest round of family reunions, held in late September, was the first in
nearly two years. Seoul hopes to arrange new rounds next month and again for
Lunar New Year's Day in February.
In a rare gesture to patch up frayed ties with the South, North Korea apologized
Wednesday for the deaths of six South Koreans who were swept away by a flash
flood after the North abruptly opened a dam last month.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
