Former president says inter-Korean summit declaration 'abandoned'

By Shim Sun-ah

SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's former President Roh Moo-hyun said Wednesday the agreement that he signed in a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il a year ago has been "abandoned" by Seoul.

"It is an abandoned declaration," Roh said in his speech to a civilian ceremony
here to mark the first anniversary of the summit.
"I hoped it would be thick with leaves and bear fruit one year later, but now the
tree is shriveling," he said, showing his regret over the current government's
skeptical position on the Oct. 4, 2007 summit agreement.
During the summit in Pyongyang, the two Koreas agreed to work together to end
military hostilities, further develop inter-Korean economic cooperation programs
and create a special peace zone around Haeju on the North's west coast, among
other things.
Their once reconciliatory relations that began after the first summit in 2000,
however, turned sour after the conservative, pro-U.S. South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak took office in late February, pledging to link further inter-Korean
cooperation programs to progress in international efforts to scrap the North's
nuclear arms ambitions.
Lee has been apparently reluctant to implement various inter-Korean programs
agreed upon in the summit, which officials estimate would cost 14.3 trillion won
(US$11.9 billion).
North Korea, in anger over Lee's tough stance, has spurned Lee's repeated offers
of dialogue and stepped up harsh criticism against him, accusing him of being a
"traitor."
The fatal shooting of a South Korean tourist in the communist state dealt a
further blow to the relations.
Roh said Seoul should rebuild confidence with Pyongyang if it really wants to
resume reconciliatory talks.
"The Lee Myung-bak government has been disregarding the declaration. Inter-Korean
relations are clogged again as a result," Roh said. "But more importantly, this
breaks confidence (between the two Koreas)."
"Keeping a promise is basic to all human relationships. The result of
international negotiations is an especially grave and heavy promise," Roh said,
apparently urging the government to abide by the summit accord.
In his first public appearance since leaving the presidential office, Roh also
advised the government to refrain from provoking Pyongyang by demonstrating a
strong alliance between South Korea and the United States by moving to join the
U.S-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and Missile Defense (MD), aimed
at deterring trade in missile and nuclear technology and air attacks by states
such as North Korea and Iran.
"It is unnecessary to increase rhetoric related to the South Korea-U.S. alliance
as a deterrent against North Korea, if the government truly wants to make
(inter-Korean) dialogue into a success," he said.
Also present at the event were about 50 attendants who accompanied Roh during his
trip to Pyongyang for the summit and 300 other former ranking officials and
politicians, including former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan. Unification Minister
Kim Ha-joong was absent from the event.