Lim Urges Lee to Implement Inter-Korean Agreements
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Former Unification Minister Lim Dong-won urged President Lee Myung-bak Wednesday to clarify whether to implement two inter-Korean accords in a bid to recover the bilateral relations.
``It is a reality that North Korea is considering the June 15 Joint Declaration and the Oct. 4 Inter-Korea Summit Agreement the most important thing, which Lee should not overlook,'' said Lim, who served as unification minister during the Kim Dae-jung administration twice in 1999 and 2001. He now works as director of the Sejong Institute.
North Korea has urged South Korea to implement the two accords immediately.
The former President and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il adopted the June 15 declaration at the end of the first inter-Korean summit in 2000.
Under the agreements, reunions of displaced families took place and the joint Gaeseong Industrial Complex was built.
The Oct. 4 accord, which was reached between former President Roh Moo-hyun and the North Korean leader during the second inter-Korea summit last year, includes reaffirmation of implementing the previous agreements and calls for international talks to replace the armistice which ended the Korean War (1950-1953) with a permanent peace treaty.
At a lecture in Seoul, Lim criticized Lee of showing little interest in implementing the accord.
Former President Kim has stressed that implementation of the inter-Korean Basic Agreement struck in 1991 is the key to resolving inter-Korean issues.
``The important thing is to put its spirit into practice,'' the former unification minister said.
The two Koreas pledged in the basic agreement that they would avoid armed conflicts for peace on the Korean Peninsula.