ID :
22592
Sat, 10/04/2008 - 09:00
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/22592
The shortlink copeid
Anniversary of Oct. 4 summit marred by suspicion and doubt
By Shim Sun-ah
SEOUL, Oct. 4 (Yonhap) -- The landmark Oct. 4 summit between leaders of the two Koreas last year marked its first anniversary on Saturday with a resounding silence, as the current government has apparently turned its back on the summit agreements.
Former President Roh Moo-hyun voiced anger over the sitting government's failure
to implement the agreement signed at the end of his summit talks with North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il, saying the accord has been "abandoned."
The summit agreement outlined plans to end military hostilities and build mutual
confidence between the two Koreas, as well as further developing inter-Korean
economic cooperation programs.
"I hoped it would become thick with leaves and bear fruit in a year, but the tree
is now shriveling," Roh said during a speech at a modest ceremony in Seoul to
mark the occasion. "This is an abandoned declaration," he stressed.
A series of high-level talks between the countries' prime ministers, defense
ministers and economic officials to discuss ways to carry out the Oct. 4
declaration followed the summit.
North-South relations dramatically improved after the historic first summit in
2000 between then President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
Ties were further cemented following the Oct. 4 summit, but turned sour after the
innauguration of the conservative, pro-U.S. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak
in late February.
Conservative law makers and officials here have increasingly expressed their
doubts over the efficacy of more South Korean investment into the North, which
they say will only prolong the life of the communist regime. Under the engagement
policy pursued by Lee's two liberal predecessors, billions of dollars in free aid
was sent to North Korea over a period of ten years.
In 2006 North Korea surprised the world by conducting an underground test of its
nuclear weapons. Lee, who once headed one of the country's largest construction
firms, has vowed to link further inter-Korean cooperation to progress in
international efforts to scrap the North's nuclear ambitions.
As relations quickly chilled, however, Lee softened his stance, offering to
discuss humanitarian food aid to North Korea and paying lip service to the spirit
of the past two summit agreements.
Angered by Lee's initial hardline position, Pyongyang spurned Lee's repeated
offers of dialogue and stepped up its harsh criticism of him, accusing the
president at one point of being a "traitor."
The fatal shooting of a South Korean tourist at a mountain resort in the
communist state in early July dealt a further blow to relations. The North has
since refused to cooperate in investigations surrounding the shooting.
Pyongyang has continued to insist it will not return to the dialogue table until
Seoul pledges to carry out all previous agreements, and has demanded that Seoul
punish conservative civic groups for flying anti-North Korean propaganda banners,
officials said.
The Choson Sinbo, a Japan-based pro-Pyongyang daily, said on Wednesday that
inter-Korean relations have reached their lowest ebb in the seven months after
Lee's inauguration. The paper is widely seen as representative of Pyongyang's
position.
A key to breaking the current stall, read the article dispatched from Pyongyang,
is "to honor and implement" the accords signed by leaders of the two Koreas.
Although Seoul says it has neither ignored the summit accords nor refused to
carry them out, it still appears unwilling to implement the agreements in the
face of public opinion that remains largely negative towards spending taxpayers'
money to aid the nuclear-armed neighbor.
Yoon Sang-hyun, lawmaker for the ruling Grand National Party, quoted Unification
Ministry estimates that such aid would cost Seoul 14.3 trillion won (US$11.9
billion), including private investment, to carry out the inter-Korean programs
agreed to in last year's summit.
The agreements call for the expansion of the joint industrial complex at Kaesong,
just north of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two countries, as well
as repair of the country's obsolete roads and railways and the creation of a
joint shipbuilding complex.
Another point of contention between Seoul and Pyongyang is the Northern Limit
Line (NLL), which North Korea disputes. The NLL is the de-facto maritime border
between the two Koreas and was drawn unilaterally by U.S.-led U.N. forces at the
end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
The waters near the NLL, in the West Sea, remain a potential flash point, with
two bloody naval clashes occuring there in 1999 and 2002. A part of the summit
agreement calls for the establishment of a special peace zone in Haeju, on the
North's west coast, near the NLL.
Working-level military talks to discuss reducing tensions around NLL waters
resumed Thursday at Pyongyang's request, after they were suspended nearly eight
months ago following remarks by a South Korean army general about attacking the
North.
According to the South Korean military, however, the talks ended about an hour
and a half after getting started without any significant agreements.
There have also been no follow-up discussions on economic programs under the new
Seoul government. Agreements on forming a joint cheering squad for the Beijing
Summer Olympics, opening a direct air route linking South Korea and the North's
Mount Paektu, and arranging for more temporary reunions of families separated
during the Korean War were all similarly left unimplemented amid the strained
ties.
Meanwhile, six-party talks aimed at scrapping the North's nuclear arms program
remains locked in a dispute over an acceptable protocol for verification of the
North's nuclear declaration, submitted in June as part of an energy deal agreed
to during the talks, which also involve the United States, South Korea, China,
Japan and Russia.
Experts say the government should not abandon relations as a way to regain
leverage in negotiations over North Korea's nuclear programs.
"To become a key player in the process of building a future peace regime on the
Korean Peninsula, South Korea must have closer ties with North Korea," said Jeong
Se-hyun, chairman of the Seoul-based civic group Korean Council for
Reconciliation and Cooperation. Jeong served as Unification Minister under the
Roh government.
Jeong said Seoul needs to show a "sincere" respect for the 2000 and 2007 summit
accords in order for relations to begin rolling again.
sshim@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Oct. 4 (Yonhap) -- The landmark Oct. 4 summit between leaders of the two Koreas last year marked its first anniversary on Saturday with a resounding silence, as the current government has apparently turned its back on the summit agreements.
Former President Roh Moo-hyun voiced anger over the sitting government's failure
to implement the agreement signed at the end of his summit talks with North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il, saying the accord has been "abandoned."
The summit agreement outlined plans to end military hostilities and build mutual
confidence between the two Koreas, as well as further developing inter-Korean
economic cooperation programs.
"I hoped it would become thick with leaves and bear fruit in a year, but the tree
is now shriveling," Roh said during a speech at a modest ceremony in Seoul to
mark the occasion. "This is an abandoned declaration," he stressed.
A series of high-level talks between the countries' prime ministers, defense
ministers and economic officials to discuss ways to carry out the Oct. 4
declaration followed the summit.
North-South relations dramatically improved after the historic first summit in
2000 between then President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
Ties were further cemented following the Oct. 4 summit, but turned sour after the
innauguration of the conservative, pro-U.S. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak
in late February.
Conservative law makers and officials here have increasingly expressed their
doubts over the efficacy of more South Korean investment into the North, which
they say will only prolong the life of the communist regime. Under the engagement
policy pursued by Lee's two liberal predecessors, billions of dollars in free aid
was sent to North Korea over a period of ten years.
In 2006 North Korea surprised the world by conducting an underground test of its
nuclear weapons. Lee, who once headed one of the country's largest construction
firms, has vowed to link further inter-Korean cooperation to progress in
international efforts to scrap the North's nuclear ambitions.
As relations quickly chilled, however, Lee softened his stance, offering to
discuss humanitarian food aid to North Korea and paying lip service to the spirit
of the past two summit agreements.
Angered by Lee's initial hardline position, Pyongyang spurned Lee's repeated
offers of dialogue and stepped up its harsh criticism of him, accusing the
president at one point of being a "traitor."
The fatal shooting of a South Korean tourist at a mountain resort in the
communist state in early July dealt a further blow to relations. The North has
since refused to cooperate in investigations surrounding the shooting.
Pyongyang has continued to insist it will not return to the dialogue table until
Seoul pledges to carry out all previous agreements, and has demanded that Seoul
punish conservative civic groups for flying anti-North Korean propaganda banners,
officials said.
The Choson Sinbo, a Japan-based pro-Pyongyang daily, said on Wednesday that
inter-Korean relations have reached their lowest ebb in the seven months after
Lee's inauguration. The paper is widely seen as representative of Pyongyang's
position.
A key to breaking the current stall, read the article dispatched from Pyongyang,
is "to honor and implement" the accords signed by leaders of the two Koreas.
Although Seoul says it has neither ignored the summit accords nor refused to
carry them out, it still appears unwilling to implement the agreements in the
face of public opinion that remains largely negative towards spending taxpayers'
money to aid the nuclear-armed neighbor.
Yoon Sang-hyun, lawmaker for the ruling Grand National Party, quoted Unification
Ministry estimates that such aid would cost Seoul 14.3 trillion won (US$11.9
billion), including private investment, to carry out the inter-Korean programs
agreed to in last year's summit.
The agreements call for the expansion of the joint industrial complex at Kaesong,
just north of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two countries, as well
as repair of the country's obsolete roads and railways and the creation of a
joint shipbuilding complex.
Another point of contention between Seoul and Pyongyang is the Northern Limit
Line (NLL), which North Korea disputes. The NLL is the de-facto maritime border
between the two Koreas and was drawn unilaterally by U.S.-led U.N. forces at the
end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
The waters near the NLL, in the West Sea, remain a potential flash point, with
two bloody naval clashes occuring there in 1999 and 2002. A part of the summit
agreement calls for the establishment of a special peace zone in Haeju, on the
North's west coast, near the NLL.
Working-level military talks to discuss reducing tensions around NLL waters
resumed Thursday at Pyongyang's request, after they were suspended nearly eight
months ago following remarks by a South Korean army general about attacking the
North.
According to the South Korean military, however, the talks ended about an hour
and a half after getting started without any significant agreements.
There have also been no follow-up discussions on economic programs under the new
Seoul government. Agreements on forming a joint cheering squad for the Beijing
Summer Olympics, opening a direct air route linking South Korea and the North's
Mount Paektu, and arranging for more temporary reunions of families separated
during the Korean War were all similarly left unimplemented amid the strained
ties.
Meanwhile, six-party talks aimed at scrapping the North's nuclear arms program
remains locked in a dispute over an acceptable protocol for verification of the
North's nuclear declaration, submitted in June as part of an energy deal agreed
to during the talks, which also involve the United States, South Korea, China,
Japan and Russia.
Experts say the government should not abandon relations as a way to regain
leverage in negotiations over North Korea's nuclear programs.
"To become a key player in the process of building a future peace regime on the
Korean Peninsula, South Korea must have closer ties with North Korea," said Jeong
Se-hyun, chairman of the Seoul-based civic group Korean Council for
Reconciliation and Cooperation. Jeong served as Unification Minister under the
Roh government.
Jeong said Seoul needs to show a "sincere" respect for the 2000 and 2007 summit
accords in order for relations to begin rolling again.
sshim@yna.co.kr
(END)
