ID :
19827
Wed, 09/17/2008 - 09:23
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/19827
The shortlink copeid
Kim's health-cooperation programs
Civilian exchanges proceed normally despite N.K. leader's health problems
By Shim Sun-ah
SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) -- There have been no signs of abnormality in civilian
inter-Korean exchanges despite reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is
suffering from a stroke, officials said Tuesday.
Nineteen civic groups will likely send a small-scale delegation to North Korea
this week, including two relief groups, they said.
Kim has not been seen in public since Aug. 14 when he reportedly inspected a
military unit in the North. His conspicuous absence at a parade marking his
country's 60th anniversary a week ago and on the Korean Thanksgiving, Chuseok, on
Sunday, fueled speculation about his illness.
South Korea's main intelligence agency said Kim suffered a stroke in the middle
of last month but is recovering well enough to brush his teeth by himself and
stand on his feet if assisted. Seoul officials said they have yet to verify the
report.
"Inter-Korean civilian cooperation programs are proceeding normally as of
now, although we cannot completely rule out the possibility that the North, if
Kim's health worsens, may ask for the postponement of the visits citing internal
problems," an official at the Unification Ministry on North Korea said,
requesting anonymity.
Two Seoul-based civic groups working to help hungry North Koreans, Peace 3,000
and Korean Sharing Movement, said they plan to send a large-scale delegation
composed of 113 and 170 members, respectively, if Pyongyang approves the visits.
They plan to use the direct air route linking the two Koreas over the West Sea
for the visits.
Both Seoul and Pyongyang are positive about the visit plans, the groups said.
"We were informed by the North that there will be no problem in issuing an
invitation for us," an official said. "We expect the invitation to come
around tomorrow," said an official with the Korean Sharing Movement.
Peace 3,000 said its delegation will visit Pyongyang for four days from Thursday
to monitor distribution of bean curd and soybean milk there.
The Korean Sharing Movement said its activists will visit Pyongyang on Sept.
22-23 to attend a ceremony to mark the completion of a medical center in
Pyongyang.
The South Korea-funded industrial complex in Kaesong, the North Korean border
town, is also operating normally, officials said.
More than 32,000 North Koreans were working for 79 South Korean manufacturers
operating in the complex as of the end of August, according to the ministry.
Seoul has asked civic groups to refrain from visiting the North since early July
when a South Korean woman visiting the country's resort mountain of Geumgang was
shot dead by a North Korean soldier. Relief groups, however, have been free from
the restriction.
The shooting incident further frayed already tense political ties between the two
governments. Relations soured after a conservative South Korean president took
office in late February.
sshim@yna.co.kr
(END)
By Shim Sun-ah
SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) -- There have been no signs of abnormality in civilian
inter-Korean exchanges despite reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is
suffering from a stroke, officials said Tuesday.
Nineteen civic groups will likely send a small-scale delegation to North Korea
this week, including two relief groups, they said.
Kim has not been seen in public since Aug. 14 when he reportedly inspected a
military unit in the North. His conspicuous absence at a parade marking his
country's 60th anniversary a week ago and on the Korean Thanksgiving, Chuseok, on
Sunday, fueled speculation about his illness.
South Korea's main intelligence agency said Kim suffered a stroke in the middle
of last month but is recovering well enough to brush his teeth by himself and
stand on his feet if assisted. Seoul officials said they have yet to verify the
report.
"Inter-Korean civilian cooperation programs are proceeding normally as of
now, although we cannot completely rule out the possibility that the North, if
Kim's health worsens, may ask for the postponement of the visits citing internal
problems," an official at the Unification Ministry on North Korea said,
requesting anonymity.
Two Seoul-based civic groups working to help hungry North Koreans, Peace 3,000
and Korean Sharing Movement, said they plan to send a large-scale delegation
composed of 113 and 170 members, respectively, if Pyongyang approves the visits.
They plan to use the direct air route linking the two Koreas over the West Sea
for the visits.
Both Seoul and Pyongyang are positive about the visit plans, the groups said.
"We were informed by the North that there will be no problem in issuing an
invitation for us," an official said. "We expect the invitation to come
around tomorrow," said an official with the Korean Sharing Movement.
Peace 3,000 said its delegation will visit Pyongyang for four days from Thursday
to monitor distribution of bean curd and soybean milk there.
The Korean Sharing Movement said its activists will visit Pyongyang on Sept.
22-23 to attend a ceremony to mark the completion of a medical center in
Pyongyang.
The South Korea-funded industrial complex in Kaesong, the North Korean border
town, is also operating normally, officials said.
More than 32,000 North Koreans were working for 79 South Korean manufacturers
operating in the complex as of the end of August, according to the ministry.
Seoul has asked civic groups to refrain from visiting the North since early July
when a South Korean woman visiting the country's resort mountain of Geumgang was
shot dead by a North Korean soldier. Relief groups, however, have been free from
the restriction.
The shooting incident further frayed already tense political ties between the two
governments. Relations soured after a conservative South Korean president took
office in late February.
sshim@yna.co.kr
(END)
