By Kim Young-jin
North Korea Wednesday accused Seoul of blocking efforts to jointly address potential volcanic activity at Mt. Baekdu in the North, casting doubt on a new agreement to cooperate on the matter.
Geologists from the sides Tuesday agreed to conduct a joint inspection of the site in June, after holding an expert-level forum next month.
But the fate of the joint activities appears to hinge on whether the North will agree to provide background research information to the South.
“We accepted the agreement, but the practice of it will depend on South Korea’s actions,” a report carried by the official Korean Central Television said. “The South’s side insists that we should provide information about the volcano, delaying the joint research activity.”
The agreement was made during the second round of talks between the experts — held at the North Korean town of Gaeseong — to discuss ways to deal with any eruption of Mt. Baekdu.
Experts believe that an eruption would have serious implications for air traffic and agriculture in the region. It last erupted in 1903.
The meeting, which wrapped up around 8 p.m., followed talks held March 29 in Munsan, north of Seoul, where the sides agreed on the need for collaboration.
After the talks, experts from the South’s side said the North agreed to provide research documents before the forum, which were likely to be held in Pyongyang.
“The government will provide necessary support and cooperation so that the agreements can be pursued substantially,” said Lee Jong-joo, deputy spokeswoman at the Ministry of Unification. “But it is improper for the North to unilaterally announce statements underestimating the agreements (reached Tuesday).”
The report also accused the South’s geologists of stretching out the meeting as a tactic to coerce its side to accept the agreement.
The talks over Mt. Baekdu are the first since military dialogue in February fell apart after the North’s refusal to apologize for two deadly attacks last year.
Though Seoul has discounted any political significance attached to the talks, analysts suggest the Lee Myung-bak administration could be using them to gauge whether the North is ready for sincere dialogue.
Pyongyang initially pushed for government-level talks amid regional concerns over natural disasters in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan. Seoul downgraded them to an academic level.
Standing at 2,740 meters, Mt. Baekdu is the highest mountain on the Korean Peninsula and considered a sacred ancestral symbol by both sides.