By Kang Seung-woo
A controversy is rapidly escalating regarding a claim first made by a government minister on Sunday that North Korea diverted wages intended for its citizens who worked at the now-closed Gaeseong Industrial Complex (GIC), for nuclear weapons and missile development.
President Park Geun-hye also stated in her Tuesday address to the National Assembly that a hefty chunk of wages paid to North Korean workers was funneled to its leadership, hinting that the regime may have used the money to develop weapons.
The President's remark came one day after Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo retracted his claim made at the weekend that the government had data to prove the North's diversion of funds.
If Park's claim is true, it could mean that South Korea has violated a United Nations (U.N.) Security Council resolution against contributing funds to North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program.
In response to the North's third nuclear test in 2013, the U.N. slapped Resolution 2094 banning the flow of "bulk cash" into North Korea and restricting the financial network of North Korean banks linked to the nation's illegal activities.
Under the resolution, member states are required to prevent the provision of financial services or monetary transfers of any financial or other assets or resources, including bulk cash, that could contribute to funding the North's nuclear or ballistic missile programs.
"Most of the dollars we paid are presumed to have been funneled into the Workers' Party responsible for nuclear and missile development," Park told lawmakers.
The South Korean government shuttered the joint factory zone last Wednesday and the unification minister said Friday that the government had obtained "multiple documents" related to concerns or speculation that its payments to GIC workers had been used to bankroll the development of nuclear weapons and missiles. But he went a step further on Sunday, saying that 70 percent of the money was misused but did not provide any evidence to support this, citing a need for confidentiality.
However, the unification minister then reversed this claim Monday amid concerns that the South may have breached the U.N. resolution.
"If there is clear proof for the North's misappropriation, it would constitute a breach of relevant U.N. resolutions," Hong told lawmakers of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. "But there are only concerns about the North's misuse of the money, and I've not said that there is clear evidence."
The opposition has strongly condemned the government's flip-flop on the conflicting statements issued and are calling for the minister's resignation.
"President Park's claim in her address admitted the nation's violation of the U.N. resolution. The government needs to clearly explain when it discovered the misuse of the funds and whether it ignored this," said Kim Sung-soo, spokesman of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, Tuesday.
Cheong Wa Dae declined to comment regarding the issue of conflicting statements and the possible breach of the U.N. resolution.
"If necessary, the unification ministry will give an additional explanation on the issue," said presidential spokesman Jung Young-kuk.
Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University, said that President Park mentioned the misappropriation ambiguously to avoid allegations that South Korea breached the U.N. resolution, while defending her decision to shut down the GIC.
A controversy is rapidly escalating regarding a claim first made by a government minister on Sunday that North Korea diverted wages intended for its citizens who worked at the now-closed Gaeseong Industrial Complex (GIC), for nuclear weapons and missile development.
President Park Geun-hye also stated in her Tuesday address to the National Assembly that a hefty chunk of wages paid to North Korean workers was funneled to its leadership, hinting that the regime may have used the money to develop weapons.
The President's remark came one day after Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo retracted his claim made at the weekend that the government had data to prove the North's diversion of funds.
If Park's claim is true, it could mean that South Korea has violated a United Nations (U.N.) Security Council resolution against contributing funds to North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program.
In response to the North's third nuclear test in 2013, the U.N. slapped Resolution 2094 banning the flow of "bulk cash" into North Korea and restricting the financial network of North Korean banks linked to the nation's illegal activities.
Under the resolution, member states are required to prevent the provision of financial services or monetary transfers of any financial or other assets or resources, including bulk cash, that could contribute to funding the North's nuclear or ballistic missile programs.
"Most of the dollars we paid are presumed to have been funneled into the Workers' Party responsible for nuclear and missile development," Park told lawmakers.
The South Korean government shuttered the joint factory zone last Wednesday and the unification minister said Friday that the government had obtained "multiple documents" related to concerns or speculation that its payments to GIC workers had been used to bankroll the development of nuclear weapons and missiles. But he went a step further on Sunday, saying that 70 percent of the money was misused but did not provide any evidence to support this, citing a need for confidentiality.
However, the unification minister then reversed this claim Monday amid concerns that the South may have breached the U.N. resolution.
"If there is clear proof for the North's misappropriation, it would constitute a breach of relevant U.N. resolutions," Hong told lawmakers of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. "But there are only concerns about the North's misuse of the money, and I've not said that there is clear evidence."
The opposition has strongly condemned the government's flip-flop on the conflicting statements issued and are calling for the minister's resignation.
"President Park's claim in her address admitted the nation's violation of the U.N. resolution. The government needs to clearly explain when it discovered the misuse of the funds and whether it ignored this," said Kim Sung-soo, spokesman of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, Tuesday.
Cheong Wa Dae declined to comment regarding the issue of conflicting statements and the possible breach of the U.N. resolution.
"If necessary, the unification ministry will give an additional explanation on the issue," said presidential spokesman Jung Young-kuk.
Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University, said that President Park mentioned the misappropriation ambiguously to avoid allegations that South Korea breached the U.N. resolution, while defending her decision to shut down the GIC.
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