ID :
22337
Thu, 10/02/2008 - 13:37
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/22337
The shortlink copeid
Seoul's liberal party seeks stronger inter-Korean ties in Kaesong
By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's main opposition party called for the resumption of stalled dialogue with Pyongyang and pledged to make efforts to implement an inter-Korean agreement struck last year as they visited the North Korean border town of Kaesong on Thursday.
About 50 legislators of the liberal Democratic Party made a one-day trip to the
Kaesong inter-Korean joint industrial complex, marking the first anniversary of
the Oct. 4 inter-Korean declaration made by Seoul's ex-President Roh Moo-hyun and
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
Relations between the divided countries, which technically remain at war, warmed
after their first-ever summit in 2000, leading to a historic agreement committed
to ending military hostilities across the border and revitalizing inter-Korean
economic cooperation.
Most of the agreements remain unfulfilled, however, as Seoul's conservative,
pro-Washington President Lee Myung-bak took office in late February pledging to
take a harder line with his neighbor. North Korea has recently been backtracking
from a six-party aid-for-denuclearization deal reached last year.
"Our party will actively seek holding reconciliation talks with North Korean
politicians to play a role in thawing the frozen inter-Korean ties," said Chung
Sye-kyun, who led the visiting lawmakers in Kaesong, according to media pool
reports. "The party leadership, including myself, is willing to visit Pyongyang
and meet its officials."
Chung also called on the Lee government to make more effort in implementing the
Oct. 4 agreement.
"The party will make the utmost effort in implementing the historic agreement and
achieving a peaceful Korean Peninsula," he said. "The Lee administration must
soften its hardline stance toward the North to ease the ongoing tension."
A series of recent events, including the July 11 shooting death of a South Korean
tourist in the North and the expulsion of South Korean officials from the Kaesong
Industrial Complex in March, have further strained ties between the Lee
government and Pyongyang.
At present, over 32,000 North Koreans work for 79 South Korean manufacturing
plants at the Kaesong complex, a legacy of the previous South Korean liberal
governments' engagement policy towards the North.
Lee is reluctant to implement further inter-Korean programs under last year's
deal, which are estimated to cost Seoul at least 14.3 trillion won (US$11.9
billion).
North Korea, in anger over Lee's tough stance, has spurned the president's
repeated offers of dialogue and stepped up harsh criticism against his
administration.
On Wednesday, former President Roh, who signed the Oct. 4 deal, denounced the
incumbent government for "abandoning" the agreement and "clogging up inter-Korean
relations."
SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's main opposition party called for the resumption of stalled dialogue with Pyongyang and pledged to make efforts to implement an inter-Korean agreement struck last year as they visited the North Korean border town of Kaesong on Thursday.
About 50 legislators of the liberal Democratic Party made a one-day trip to the
Kaesong inter-Korean joint industrial complex, marking the first anniversary of
the Oct. 4 inter-Korean declaration made by Seoul's ex-President Roh Moo-hyun and
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
Relations between the divided countries, which technically remain at war, warmed
after their first-ever summit in 2000, leading to a historic agreement committed
to ending military hostilities across the border and revitalizing inter-Korean
economic cooperation.
Most of the agreements remain unfulfilled, however, as Seoul's conservative,
pro-Washington President Lee Myung-bak took office in late February pledging to
take a harder line with his neighbor. North Korea has recently been backtracking
from a six-party aid-for-denuclearization deal reached last year.
"Our party will actively seek holding reconciliation talks with North Korean
politicians to play a role in thawing the frozen inter-Korean ties," said Chung
Sye-kyun, who led the visiting lawmakers in Kaesong, according to media pool
reports. "The party leadership, including myself, is willing to visit Pyongyang
and meet its officials."
Chung also called on the Lee government to make more effort in implementing the
Oct. 4 agreement.
"The party will make the utmost effort in implementing the historic agreement and
achieving a peaceful Korean Peninsula," he said. "The Lee administration must
soften its hardline stance toward the North to ease the ongoing tension."
A series of recent events, including the July 11 shooting death of a South Korean
tourist in the North and the expulsion of South Korean officials from the Kaesong
Industrial Complex in March, have further strained ties between the Lee
government and Pyongyang.
At present, over 32,000 North Koreans work for 79 South Korean manufacturing
plants at the Kaesong complex, a legacy of the previous South Korean liberal
governments' engagement policy towards the North.
Lee is reluctant to implement further inter-Korean programs under last year's
deal, which are estimated to cost Seoul at least 14.3 trillion won (US$11.9
billion).
North Korea, in anger over Lee's tough stance, has spurned the president's
repeated offers of dialogue and stepped up harsh criticism against his
administration.
On Wednesday, former President Roh, who signed the Oct. 4 deal, denounced the
incumbent government for "abandoning" the agreement and "clogging up inter-Korean
relations."
