ID :
22364
Fri, 10/03/2008 - 09:05
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/22364
The shortlink copeid
Inter-Korean military talks end with little progress
(ATTN: UPDATES with additional remarks, more details)
By Byun Duk-kun
PANMUNJOM, Korea, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- Military officials from the two Koreas met here Thursday for first inter-Korean military dialogue in eight months, but the talks ended shortly without any significant progress after the North's delegates warned of "grave consequences" for Seoul's spreading of propaganda leaflets, officials said.
"The North Korean side provided a detailed list of incidents in which (South
Korean) civic organizations spread leaflets, and demanded an apology and the
punishment of those responsible," Col. Lee Sang-cheol, Seoul's chief delegate to
the talks, told a press briefing.
North Korean delegates warned of grave consequences at the joint industrial
complex of the two Koreas in the North's border town of Kaesong should South
Korean organizations continue to spread what they called "propaganda leaflets,"
according to Lee.
Consequences could include the barring of South Koreans from the North through
the inter-Korean border and the eviction of all South Koreans from the Kaesong
complex as well as the South Korean-developed resort in the North's Mount
Geumgang, Pyongyang's delegation was quoted as saying.
The North's threat to halt the Kaesong project comes after Seoul pulled out all
its officials from the Mount Geumgang resort following the July killing of a
South Korean tourist there.
North Korea has cut off all dialogue with the South since Seoul's Lee Myung-bak
administration was inaugurated in February vowing to take a firmer stance against
the communist North than its liberal predecessors.
Thursday's meeting was the first inter-Korean dialogue since President Lee took
office. The last round of military talks were held on Jan. 25.
Col. Lee, Seoul's chief delegate to the talks who heads the Defense Ministry's
North Korea policy bureau, said the meeting cannot be called a complete failure.
"Considering that no military talks had been held in the past eight months and
that today's meeting was the first of its kind under our new government, the
talks were more aimed at exchanging each other's view on issues that needed to be
urgently addressed rather than producing a solution to a certain problem," Lee
told the press briefing.
North Korea's chief delegate, Col. Pak Rim-su, earlier said the meeting had
solely focused on the issue of South Korea's spread of propaganda leaflets.
"The talks were held after a long hiatus, but the South's stance was not one that
was ready to solve problems," Pak told reporters shortly before crossing the
military demarcation line that divides the two Koreas.
The talks, held on the South Korean side of the joint security area, better known
as the truce village of Panmumjom, ended less than two hours after they got off
to a rough start. The talks were delayed by nearly an hour as the North Korean
delegation demanded the entire meeting be open to the media.
Seoul protested, saying no previous inter-Korean dialogue had been fully open to
the media and that the North was trying to turn the talks into a venue for its
propaganda.
While North Korea focused mainly on the issue of air-dropped leaflets, South
Korean delegates took the opportunity to raise many issues that needed to be
addressed at official talks between the two Koreas, Lee said.
Seoul demanded North Korea immediately halt its defamation of the South Korean
president, noting that its repeated verbal and written attacks against President
Lee since his inauguration seriously violated the countries' 2004 agreement,
under which the sides also agreed to stop propaganda broadcasts across the DMZ, a
buffer to the military demarcation line, according to the colonel.
The South Korean delegates also demanded that the North agree to launch a joint
investigation into the shooting of South Korean Park Wang-ja at Mount Geumgang
and establish safety measures to prevent the recurrence of such a tragic
accident, he said.
At these demands, North Korean delegates reiterated their country's official
position and said they will review them once they return to Pyongyang, according
to Lee.
North Korea had refused the joint investigation, prompting Seoul to withdraw its
officials and suspend all tours to the mountain resort, jointly developed by
Hyundai Asan, an affiliate of Hyundai Group.
Thursday's meeting also drew keen attention as it followed North Korea's
announcement last week that it will soon reactivate its plutonium-producing
nuclear plants at Yongbyon, which it had been disabling under a six-nation accord
signed last year.
Seoul's delegates said the nuclear issue was not mentioned by either side at the
talks, noting that discussions at inter-Korean dialogue have been strictly
limited to bilateral issues under mutual consent.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
By Byun Duk-kun
PANMUNJOM, Korea, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- Military officials from the two Koreas met here Thursday for first inter-Korean military dialogue in eight months, but the talks ended shortly without any significant progress after the North's delegates warned of "grave consequences" for Seoul's spreading of propaganda leaflets, officials said.
"The North Korean side provided a detailed list of incidents in which (South
Korean) civic organizations spread leaflets, and demanded an apology and the
punishment of those responsible," Col. Lee Sang-cheol, Seoul's chief delegate to
the talks, told a press briefing.
North Korean delegates warned of grave consequences at the joint industrial
complex of the two Koreas in the North's border town of Kaesong should South
Korean organizations continue to spread what they called "propaganda leaflets,"
according to Lee.
Consequences could include the barring of South Koreans from the North through
the inter-Korean border and the eviction of all South Koreans from the Kaesong
complex as well as the South Korean-developed resort in the North's Mount
Geumgang, Pyongyang's delegation was quoted as saying.
The North's threat to halt the Kaesong project comes after Seoul pulled out all
its officials from the Mount Geumgang resort following the July killing of a
South Korean tourist there.
North Korea has cut off all dialogue with the South since Seoul's Lee Myung-bak
administration was inaugurated in February vowing to take a firmer stance against
the communist North than its liberal predecessors.
Thursday's meeting was the first inter-Korean dialogue since President Lee took
office. The last round of military talks were held on Jan. 25.
Col. Lee, Seoul's chief delegate to the talks who heads the Defense Ministry's
North Korea policy bureau, said the meeting cannot be called a complete failure.
"Considering that no military talks had been held in the past eight months and
that today's meeting was the first of its kind under our new government, the
talks were more aimed at exchanging each other's view on issues that needed to be
urgently addressed rather than producing a solution to a certain problem," Lee
told the press briefing.
North Korea's chief delegate, Col. Pak Rim-su, earlier said the meeting had
solely focused on the issue of South Korea's spread of propaganda leaflets.
"The talks were held after a long hiatus, but the South's stance was not one that
was ready to solve problems," Pak told reporters shortly before crossing the
military demarcation line that divides the two Koreas.
The talks, held on the South Korean side of the joint security area, better known
as the truce village of Panmumjom, ended less than two hours after they got off
to a rough start. The talks were delayed by nearly an hour as the North Korean
delegation demanded the entire meeting be open to the media.
Seoul protested, saying no previous inter-Korean dialogue had been fully open to
the media and that the North was trying to turn the talks into a venue for its
propaganda.
While North Korea focused mainly on the issue of air-dropped leaflets, South
Korean delegates took the opportunity to raise many issues that needed to be
addressed at official talks between the two Koreas, Lee said.
Seoul demanded North Korea immediately halt its defamation of the South Korean
president, noting that its repeated verbal and written attacks against President
Lee since his inauguration seriously violated the countries' 2004 agreement,
under which the sides also agreed to stop propaganda broadcasts across the DMZ, a
buffer to the military demarcation line, according to the colonel.
The South Korean delegates also demanded that the North agree to launch a joint
investigation into the shooting of South Korean Park Wang-ja at Mount Geumgang
and establish safety measures to prevent the recurrence of such a tragic
accident, he said.
At these demands, North Korean delegates reiterated their country's official
position and said they will review them once they return to Pyongyang, according
to Lee.
North Korea had refused the joint investigation, prompting Seoul to withdraw its
officials and suspend all tours to the mountain resort, jointly developed by
Hyundai Asan, an affiliate of Hyundai Group.
Thursday's meeting also drew keen attention as it followed North Korea's
announcement last week that it will soon reactivate its plutonium-producing
nuclear plants at Yongbyon, which it had been disabling under a six-nation accord
signed last year.
Seoul's delegates said the nuclear issue was not mentioned by either side at the
talks, noting that discussions at inter-Korean dialogue have been strictly
limited to bilateral issues under mutual consent.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
