By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff reporter
Followers of the late former President Kim Dae-jung Tuesday called on South and North Korea to avoid any words and actions that may further escalate tension on the Korean Peninsula.
In a resolution they adopted during a seminar in Seoul to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the June 15 Inter-Korean Joint Declaration, they also urged the administration to uphold the inter-Korean agreement signed between Kim and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2000.
The inter-Korean accord, the first of its kind since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, is widely regarded as having laid the groundwork for reconciliation between the two Koreas, while pursuing peaceful reunification through cross-border exchanges and economic cooperation.
Tuesday's resolution also urged Seoul to resume dialogue with Pyongyang to restart the stalled joint tour program to the North's Mt. Geumgang and resuscitate the ailing Gaeseong Industrial Complex.
Tours to the Mt. Geumgang resort have been suspended since July 2008 when a North Korean soldier shot dead a South Korean tourist. The Gaeseong complex, the last remaining inter-Korean reconciliatory business, is facing a possible closure, following the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan near the sea border with North Korea in March.
Seoul recently ordered a reduction in the number of South Korean workers in the complex by half as part of a set of measures to make the North accountable for the naval incident, which took the lives of 46 sailors.
In addition, the resolution urged Seoul to take a two-track approach in dealing with the naval tragedy and make continued efforts to bring Pyongyang back to the six-party talks.
"South Korea should not delay in making international efforts to resolve the North's nuclear issue on the excuse of the Cheonan incident. South Korea should work closely with other members of the six-way talks to resolve the matter in the multilateral framework," it said.
Under the June 15 joint declaration, the two Koreas agreed to realize reunification without the help of a third country and settle humanitarian issues, including exchanges of separated families and relatives and the issue of unconverted long-term prisoners of war.
The two sides also agreed to promote the balanced development of the national economy through economic cooperation and build mutual confidence by activating collaboration and exchanges.
The Lee Myung-bak administration, however, has downplayed the declaration, claiming that it has helped the North develop its nuclear weapons program with financial support from the South.
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