Seoul Remains Cool-Headed Over NK
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
South Korea is keeping a close eye on military activities in North Korea and strengthening cooperation with the United States and other allies to prepare for a possible leadership change in the communist regime, officials said Friday.
At the same time, Seoul will continue efforts to resume the stalled inter-Korean dialogue and provide food and energy aid to Pyongyang, they said.
``We are waiting for answers from North Korea to our earlier proposal to deliver humanitarian aid,'' Ministry of Unification spokesman Kim Ho-nyeon said. ``I hope the two Koreas will maintain civilian exchanges and start talks on aid regardless of reports about the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.''
Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee convened a meeting of top commanders in the morning and ordered the military to strengthen its readiness on the border between South and North Korea.
``Lee shared information on North Korea with the commanders and directed them to remain alert during the Chuseok holidays,'' a ministry spokesman said.
The unification ministry indicated that it will give the green light for a plan by a group of lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party to visit the inter-Korean industrial complex in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong on Oct. 2.
The delegation, led by the party's chairman Chung Sye-kyun, plans to meet with North Korean officials and South Korean workers on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Oct. 4 Joint Declaration signed between then-President Roh Moo-hyun and Kim.
The ministry has banned political parties and left-leaning groups from visiting the North since a South Korean tourist was killed by a North Korean solider at the Mt. Geumgang resort in the North.
On Wednesday, National Intelligence Service Director Kim Sung-ho told the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee that he had information suggesting the North Korean leader had undergone surgery for a stroke but was recovering.
The Chosun Ilbo, citing a source in Beijing, reported Friday that the North Korean leader is now suffering irregular convulsions after the stroke, and that was why he couldn't appear at the military parade marking North Korea's 60th anniversary Tuesday.
Chinese intelligence officers believe Kim's health is deteriorating drastically, the newspaper said.