ID :
30052
Thu, 11/13/2008 - 16:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/30052
The shortlink copeid
No change in S. Korea's policy despite threats from N. Korea
By Shim Sun-ah
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will calmly deal with any threats from North Korea without changing its policy toward the communist neighbor, the Unification Ministry said Thursday after Pyongyang stepped up threats to sever cross-border ties.
Relations have worsened after the conservative South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak took office with a pledge to link inter-Korean relations to the North's
nuclear disarmament.
On Wednesday, North Korea made threats that are likely to deal a further blow to
the chilled relations, saying it will strictly limit border crossings, shutter
its Red Cross mission at the truce village of Panmunjom and cut some of the
direct telephone links between the two sides.
"The government will calmly deal with this situation based on its policy of
'mutual benefits and common prosperity," Kim Ho-nyoun, spokesman for Seoul's
Unification Ministry, said in a press briefing.
He confirmed that North Korean delegates pulled out of their Red Cross office at
Panmunjom but said hot lines for maritime affairs and aviation cooperation
installed there were still working in the morning despite the threats.
Telephone links between the two Koreas' militaries and one in the inter-Korean
office in a joint industrial complex in Kaesong remained intact, he said.
Wednesday's announcements came about a month after North Korea threatened to cut
all ties with Seoul unless it drops what Pyongyang describes as its
"confrontational racket" toward the North.
Lee has come under mounting pressure from liberal politicians and North Korea
experts to alter his stance in order to prevent the communist nation from
sidelining Seoul in international efforts to end Pyongyang's nuclear arms
ambitions.
Many analysts have predicted that the North will likely try to alienate South
Korea while focusing its energy on improving relations when the U.S. Democratic
President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January.
The North's closure of the Red Cross channel will lead to a full suspension of
humanitarian programs that arrange temporary reunions between families separated
during the 1950-53 Korean War.
Officials said the Kaesong complex and the tour to the North Korean border city,
the last remaining symbols of inter-Korean reconciliation efforts, could be hurt
if the North follows through with threats to strictly control border crossings
starting Dec. 1. Tours to North Korea's Mount Geumgang, another key symbol of
inter-Korean rapprochement, were suspended in July following the shooting death
of a tourist there.
Experts say, however, that Pyongyang is unlikely to shut down the Kaesong complex
as it is a vital source of revenue for the cash-strapped country, providing
nearly US$20 million a year. More than 35,000 North Koreans currently work for 83
South Korean manufacturers in Kaesong.
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will calmly deal with any threats from North Korea without changing its policy toward the communist neighbor, the Unification Ministry said Thursday after Pyongyang stepped up threats to sever cross-border ties.
Relations have worsened after the conservative South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak took office with a pledge to link inter-Korean relations to the North's
nuclear disarmament.
On Wednesday, North Korea made threats that are likely to deal a further blow to
the chilled relations, saying it will strictly limit border crossings, shutter
its Red Cross mission at the truce village of Panmunjom and cut some of the
direct telephone links between the two sides.
"The government will calmly deal with this situation based on its policy of
'mutual benefits and common prosperity," Kim Ho-nyoun, spokesman for Seoul's
Unification Ministry, said in a press briefing.
He confirmed that North Korean delegates pulled out of their Red Cross office at
Panmunjom but said hot lines for maritime affairs and aviation cooperation
installed there were still working in the morning despite the threats.
Telephone links between the two Koreas' militaries and one in the inter-Korean
office in a joint industrial complex in Kaesong remained intact, he said.
Wednesday's announcements came about a month after North Korea threatened to cut
all ties with Seoul unless it drops what Pyongyang describes as its
"confrontational racket" toward the North.
Lee has come under mounting pressure from liberal politicians and North Korea
experts to alter his stance in order to prevent the communist nation from
sidelining Seoul in international efforts to end Pyongyang's nuclear arms
ambitions.
Many analysts have predicted that the North will likely try to alienate South
Korea while focusing its energy on improving relations when the U.S. Democratic
President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January.
The North's closure of the Red Cross channel will lead to a full suspension of
humanitarian programs that arrange temporary reunions between families separated
during the 1950-53 Korean War.
Officials said the Kaesong complex and the tour to the North Korean border city,
the last remaining symbols of inter-Korean reconciliation efforts, could be hurt
if the North follows through with threats to strictly control border crossings
starting Dec. 1. Tours to North Korea's Mount Geumgang, another key symbol of
inter-Korean rapprochement, were suspended in July following the shooting death
of a tourist there.
Experts say, however, that Pyongyang is unlikely to shut down the Kaesong complex
as it is a vital source of revenue for the cash-strapped country, providing
nearly US$20 million a year. More than 35,000 North Koreans currently work for 83
South Korean manufacturers in Kaesong.
