By Kim Young-jin
The Unification Ministry has decided to launch a task force to set up contingency plans regarding relations with North Korea, in response to the North’s deadly provocations last year.
The team would create schemes for dealing with possible eruptions in inter-Korean relations and organize related military drills, the ministry said Sunday, as well as coordinate a response in case of a crisis.
Momentum to establish the team has grown since two deadly provocations by Pyongyang ratcheted tensions to their worst point in decades and caused concern for South Koreans working in the North.
No date has been given to when the team would officially begin.
A division with similar responsibilities existed under previous administrations, but was dismantled under the Lee administration. But the sinking of the warship Cheonan in March and shelling of Yeonpyeong Island eight months later reasserted the need for such functions, the ministry said.
Hundreds of South Koreans work in the North daily, mostly at the jointly-run Gaeseong Industrial Complex near the border.
Only a week ago, tensions rose again when Pyongyang claimed Seoul officials had “begged” for apologies for the provocations and offered bribes in exchange for summit meetings. The communist regime also vowed never to deal with the Lee administration.
Meanwhile, officials say the door remains open for talks on possible volcanic activities at Mt. Baekdu in the North but that the ball is in Pyongyang’s court.
The academic-level talks stalled last month after the North failed to respond to Seoul’s proposal for a joint seminar to pave the way for site inspections. They were the first talks between the sides since February.