President Raised Abductees, POWs, But Kim Kept Mum
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun raised the issue of South Korean abductees and prisoners of war (POWs) in North Korea during the inter-Korean summit on Oct. 2-4, however, the matter was ignored by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, according to a senior official.
``President Roh raised the issues but they were not discussed (with Kim),'' Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung told reporters.
Lee said that Kim didn't mention anything concrete on the matter of South Korean abductees and POWs during the summit.
Lee's remark came during his explanation to journalists at the Korea Press Center in Seoul as to why the joint declaration of the summit failed to include those issues.
Meanwhile, Lee said the government had made some progress in getting the abductees and POWs back to the South.
``About 87 percent of 3,900 victims, about 3,400 people, were brought back to South Korea,'' Lee said. ``It is unfair that the government is criticized as if it hasn't done anything for them.''
Lee went on to say that it takes time and effort to solve the matter even though it is a very important task.
The minister pledged to actively tackle the issues in the upcoming talks with North Korea for the remaining 13 percent.
He confessed that there is a wide gap between the South and the North regarding the approach to the people kidnapped to North Korea. The North prefers a humanitarian approach while the South prefers discussion through government officials.
``It is a prerequisite for the two Koreas to reach an agreement on the reality of the abductees,'' Lee added.
During his speech to the reporters, family members of the abductees staged a protest near the press center, urging the immediate return of the abductees to the South.
Choi Seong-yong, representative of these families, said that it is not appropriate for Lee to give credit to the current government on the 87 percent return because the return was made by the previous governments.