Defense Minister Remains Firm on Sea Border
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
For Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo, the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea is a source of big concern these days amid heated public debate over a possible redrawing of the maritime border with North Korea.
Kim maintains a firm position that redrawing the line cannot be a matter of discussion as it is tantamount to a territorial concession. But he has apparently been under pressure from the presidential office to be more flexible on the issue.
During a meeting with representatives from political parties last week, President Roh Moo-hyun said he did not believe the line is a legitimate border, provoking public criticism.
``Under our Constitution, the territory of North Korea belongs to South Korea. In this context, calling a line in our territory a border confuses me,'' Roh said.
His remarks came a week after inter-Korean summit talks in Pyongyang with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. In a joint declaration, Roh and Kim agreed to develop the area around the disputed western sea border into a ``peace zone'' for new inter-Korean business projects.
A few joint fishing areas will be designated for private vessels from both Koreas, and a South Korean-backed special industrial zone will be built in the area under the plan.
Security issues related to the plan will be addressed during a second inter-Korean defense ministers' meeting slated for next month in Pyongyang.
Critics here say the peace zone project will eventually neutralize the NLL, which has served as the de facto sea border between South and North Korea since it was drawn by the U.S.-led United Nations Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Pyongyang has insisted the line be nullified and redrawn. The North has crossed the NLL 135 times since 2001, according to a National Assembly report from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The two navies clashed in the crab-rich western waters in 1999 and 2002, resulting in scores of casualties and property damages on both sides.
Kim remains firm on the protection of the NLL.
``If I should ever change my position on this (NLL), I'm no longer Kim Jang-soo,'' the minister was quoted by local newspapers as saying on Monday. Kim made that comment during a meeting with high-ranking commanding officers including the chiefs of staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The Ministry of National Defense has tried to keep a low-key approach toward the issue, worrying that it could be seen as being in discord with the presidential office.
Minister Kim is on the same page with Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of Unification over the NLL issue," ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-ki told reporters.
The minister was quoted by the spokesman as saying ``I will deal with the issue after collecting wisdom from my chiefs of staff, so that field officers should do their jobs best not to be swayed by the controversy over the NLL.''
The defense minister made headlines after the summit talks with pictures of him shaking hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il without bowing his head, while other government officials such as the country's spy chief Kim Man-bok bowed their heads.
Kim reportedly said he had done that deliberately given his status as the chief of 680,000 South Korean armed forces.
The Korea Veterans ASsociation said it will issue a statement on Wednesday to denounce Roh's remarks on the NLL.
More than 700 retired soldiers, including several former defense ministers, will participate in the gathering, the group said in a press release.