By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
About 700 representatives from conservative groups Wednesday held a rally denouncing President Roh Moo-hyun's remarks last week that he does not believe the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea is a legitimate border with North Korea.
Lawmakers from the Grand National Party (GNP) slammed Roh's controversial remarks during a National Assembly inspection of the Ministry of National Defense.
Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo, however, reiterated that he will not concede the NLL to North Korea.
``I will never concede or open the NLL to North Korea during the upcoming inter-Korean defense ministers' talks. That's not going to happen,'' Kim said during the inspection at the ministry.
``We're firmly controlling the southern part of the NLL,'' Kim said. ``The prerequisite to building a `peace zone'' in the area around the West Sea is the principle that the NLL equals the maritime non-aggression demarcation line between the two Koreas.''
Rep. Song Young-sun of the GNP argued Roh is misleading the public.
``The NLL issue should be dealt with from the perspective of military and national defense,'' she said. ``Roh's comments distorted the historical background of the NLL.''
A week after the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang earlier this month, Roh said he does not think the NLL is an official border but an operational redline of the South Korean Navy.
In a joint declaration, Roh and Kim agreed to develop the area around the disputed western sea border into a ``peace zone,'' where a South Korean-backed large-scale industrial complex will be built.
The agreement also calls for designating a few joint fishing areas around the border for private vessels from both Koreas.
The defense chiefs from the two Koreas are scheduled to hold talks in Pyongyang next month to discuss security issues related to the inter-Korean project.
The country's conservative forces are vehemently opposed to the move, arguing the project will eventually neutralize the NLL, which has served as the de facto sea borderline between South and North Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The U.S.-led United Nations Command drew the line.
Pyongyang has insisted the line be redrawn. The crab-rich western waters have been a flash point for inter-Korean conflicts. The two navies clashed near the NLL in 1999 and 2000, resulting in scores of casualties and property damages on both sides.
``We are very concerned that Roh's remarks would offer an excuse to North Korea attempting to nullify the NLL and are resulting in misleading the public,'' a joint statement issued by more than 250 conservative groups led by the Korea Veterans Association and an association of former defense ministers and military generals.
Bereaved family members of victims from the 1999 and 2000 naval conflicts also participated in the rally, urging the President to stop discrediting the fallen soldiers' solemn sacrifice.
The presidential office stepped back.
``The NLL is a practical inter-Korean maritime border. Such a position is not different from those of the defense minister and conservative lawmakers,'' Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Cheon Ho-seon told reporters.
``We only have an optional problem over whether we will keep the western waters, a hot point for conflicts, or turn the area into a peace zone,'' he said.