N. Korea dialogue with US to widen inter-Korean schism: pro-N.K. daily

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details; ADDS byline)
By Shim Sun-ah
SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will become less of a diplomatic priority for North Korea should U.S. President-elect Barack Obama aggressively pursue dialogue with the communist state, a pro-Pyongyang daily said Friday.

Inter-Korean relations have been frosty since the pro-U.S. and conservative South
Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in late February. Lee has taken a
firmer stance on North Korea than his two liberal predecessors, whom he has
accused of making too many concessions to the nuclear-armed neighbor.
"If the soon-to-be-inaugurated Obama administration takes a more aggressive
stance toward dialogue with the DPRK, having learned lessons from its
predecessor, the situation whereby (North Korea) communicates with the U.S. and
sidelines South Korea will be intensified," said the Joson Sinbo, the organ of a
pro-Pyongyang Korean group in Japan.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official name of
North Korea.
The daily, which is seen to represent Pyongyang's position on sensitive political
issues, also slammed President Lee for causing current tensions in inter-Korean
relations.
President-elect Obama's campaign slogan of "change," meanwhile, was also
interpreted by the pro-Pyongyang paper as a sign that the current situation on
the Korean Peninsula will enter into a new phase.
Pyongyang has yet to release any official response two days after Obama's win in
the presidential election.
Many experts here said Pyongyang would welcome the outcome of the U.S. election
and may continue to try and alienate Seoul while focusing diplomatic attention on
Washington.
The article, titled "Confrontational stance crossing the red line," warned that
North Korea's patience with Lee's tough policies have run out.
"The DPRK, however it may value relations with South Korea, can hardly show any
tolerance to those frantically attempting to move in step with U.S. warmongers
today," it said, after noting that Pyongyang has been waiting for a change in
Seoul's position for nearly eight months.
North Korea has demanded that Seoul fully carry out an agreement signed at the
end of an historic summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and Lee's
liberal predecessor, Roh Moo-hyun, in October last year. Seoul, however, has
taken a lukewarm position on the demand and said it would discuss ways to carry
out the accord only when Pyongyang returns to dialogue.
The newspaper described Seoul's rejection of the summit agreement as tantamount
to a denial of the ideology and social system of its dialogue partner.
Lee will face "a shameful end" if he continues to pursue a confrontational
policy, the daily warned.
It also noted several other instances that demonstrated Seoul's hostile position,
including the spreading of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets into the North by
South Korean civic groups, as well as mounting media speculation over Kim's
health. Also mentioned was a joint contingency plan with the U.S. military to
cope with potential internal conflicts in the North.
sshim@yna.co.kr
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