By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
South and North Korea are in for another bout of diplomatic maneuvering at this week's international conference in Teheran, following a showdown at a regional security forum in Singapore last week.
At issue is the Oct. 4 Summit Declaration signed under the previous, liberal South Korean government, which the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration is reluctant to inherit. North Korea has urged the Lee government to ``honor'' the agreements made at the summit between former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang last year.
During the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) talks that ended last Thursday, Pyongyang officials sought to use the international meeting to press Seoul to implement the accords, most of which relate to South Korean-backed cross-border business programs.
Seoul officials, on the other hand, are doing their utmost to put the recent death by shooting of a South Korean tourist at a North Korean resort under the global spotlight and have it addressed in the chairman's statement.
As a result, phrases referring to both issues were included in the closing statement in Singapore, but the hosts, who chaired the annual meeting of foreign ministers from the 27-member ARF, decided to delete both wordings later due to objections from the two Koreas.
In a move to further press the South, North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun flew to Teheran, which is hosting a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) after the ARF meeting to drum up support from the international community on the North's position on inter-Korean ties and have it addressed in a statement.
South Korea also dispatched Oh Joon, deputy foreign minister for international organization, global issues and treaties, to Iran to block the attempt and promote Seoul's stance on inter-Korean relations.
``North Korea is trying again to get the Oct. 4 Declaration
included in a statement to be issued at the end of the NAM meeting,'' an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said. ``We'll make efforts to ensure that the statement will reflect the positions of both Koreas in a balanced manner.''
South Korea is a guest to the NAM, a group of states considering themselves not formally aligned with any major power bloc, while North Korea is a full member.
The meeting, which opened Sunday, ends today.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
