Foreign Minister
Yu Myung-hwan |
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan reaffirmed the government's North Korea policy Monday aimed at linking improvements in the economic relationship between the two Koreas to the North's nuclear disarmament.
Yu urged Pyongyang to stop making political offensives against Seoul, calling for the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue.
He made the remarks, while outlining four principles regarding the implementation of agreed-upon cross-border business programs. They are progress in international negotiations to end Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, economic feasibility, South Korea's budget capacity and national consensus in the South.
President Lee Myung-bak has already announced such principles several times after taking office in late February.
``North Korea recently made political attacks against South Korea in the international community, saying inter-Korean dialogue would be possible only after the South recognizes the Oct. 4 Summit Declaration,'' Yu said in a speech he delivered during a monthly meeting with ministry officials in Seoul.
``Our government's position is that South and North Korea should engage in dialogue based on all inter-Korean agreements signed in the past, such as the Oct. 4 declaration, the June 15 declaration and the Inter-Korean Basic Agreement,'' he said.
The June 15 declaration was issued at the end of the first inter-Korean summit in 2000 between former President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. The declaration is regarded as having laid the foundation for cross-border economic cooperation.
The basic agreement signed in 1991 calls for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea, however, has seldom mentioned the 1991 pact, while urging South Korea to implement the other agreements including South Korean-backed business projects.
In an apparent move to press the conservative Lee administration, which is reluctant to inherit the Oct. 4 declaration signed during the previous left-leaning Roh Moo-hyun government, North Korea recently began trying to convince the global community that South Korea is ``ignoring'' the inter-Korean agreement.
A case in point was the diplomatic showdown between the two Koreas at the ASEAN Regional Forum in Singapore last month.
South Korea made every effort to put the recent shooting death of a South Korean female tourist at a North Korean resort under the global spotlight and have it addressed in the closing statement, while North Korea tried to put in wording calling on the South to respect the Oct. 4 declaration.
Singapore decided to delete both phrases in the statement to help ensure ``fairness.''
``We do not intend to provoke inter-Korean conflict, but to review the existing agreements to help achieve mutual prosperity and co-existence,'' Yu said.
President Lee pledges a tougher policy toward the North demanding more reciprocity from the communist neighbor. He said his government would review every inter-Korean accord and, in particular, big-budget business programs placing much financial burden on South Korean taxpayers would take a backseat until domestic economy revives.
Lee's ``Vision 3000'' policy is aimed at helping open up the reclusive North by providing economic assistance in cooperation with the international community on the condition that Pyongyang abolishes all its nuclear weapons programs.
The policy calls for helping boost North Korea's per capita national income to $3,000 within a decade.
As for the Dokdo issue, Yu said South Korea will come up with a long-term, strategic approach toward strengthening its sovereignty over the islets in the East Sea.
He said the government would form networks with private organizations on Dokdo protection. Promoting Seoul's Dokdo ownership in various languages such as Japanese, Spanish and Chinese on the ministry's homepage is also planned, the minister added.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
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