By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the final joint statement from the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has incorporated Seoul's position on inter-Korean relations.
``We think the ministerial meeting was receptive to Seoul's position. The joint statement incorporated South Korea's position,'' according to the Ministry.
This 15th Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement was held from July 27 to 30 in Tehran. The ministry said the meeting's joint statement reflects Korea's position on inter-Korean issues. It called for an increased effort toward peace and unification between the two Koreas as well as a timely resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue. It also calls for an effort to implement all inter-Korean agreements and declarations.
North Korea reportedly wanted this joint statement to emphasize the importance of the Oct. 4 declaration signed between the South and the North during the inter-Korean summit in 2007.
North Korea has been requesting that the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration honor the Oct. 4 Summit Declaration signed by the previous liberal administration led by Roh Moo-hyun during his summit meeting with Kim Jong-il last year.
President Lee and his staff have openly questioned some of the clauses in that declaration, including South Korea-financed inter-Korean business initiatives.
The new administration has emphasized that the North should first honor its denuclearization commitment.
From South Korea, Oh Joon, deputy foreign minister for international organization, global issues and treaties, participated in the NAM meeting. From Pyongyang, Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun was in attendance.
The Non-Aligned Movement was founded in 1955. It has 118 members representing nations that identify themselves as not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. South Korean representative Oh attended the meeting this week as a guest to the NAM. Pyongyang is a full-fledged member of the group.