ID :
30080
Thu, 11/13/2008 - 18:02
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/30080
The shortlink copeid
(News Focus) N. Korea rachets up threats to draw concessions from Seoul
By Shim Sun-ah
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- Inter-Korean relations are going from bad to worse, and could possibly be terminated with the latest volleys coming out of Pyongyang.
North Korea hurled a torrent of threats against South Korea on Wednesday,
announcing plans to "strictly restrict or shut" overland passages across the
inter-Korean border next month, shutter its Red Cross mission at the truce
village of Panmunjom and sever all direct telephone links passing through the
place.
The measures 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.
Political relations between the two Koreas turned sour 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. He also vowed to
challenge the neighbor's "rudeness" in dealing with the South, even at the cost
of chilled relations.
In addition to the threats, Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry issued a statement
denying that it had agreed to allow inspectors to take samples from nuclear
facilities as part of international efforts to verify its nuclear activities.
Washington insists the North had verbally agreed to the measures during a meeting
last month in Pyongyang with top U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill.
Analysts say the North's renewed threats appear to be aimed at pressuring Seoul
to drop its hardline stance towards Pyongyang and to take the upper hand in
future denuclearization talks following U.S. Democrat Barack Obama's presidential
election victory last week.
On the campaign trail, Obama repeatedly stated his willingness to meet with North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il and voiced criticism of the outgoing George W. Bush
administration's refusal to engage in diplomacy with Pyongyang.
"Pyongyang is stepping up its threats in order to press the South Korean
government back into the engagement oriented policy pursued by its two liberal
predecessors, led by President Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun," said Cheon
Seong-whun, a senior researcher at the state-run Korea Institute for National
Unification.
President Lee has also come under mounting pressure from local 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 with the
U.S. during Obama's first year in office.
"North Korea may think it's high time to put pressure on the Lee Myung-bak
administration," Cheon said.
In the North's warning to close inter-Korean border crossings, spokesmen for the
nation's military accused Lee of damaging bilateral relations by refusing to
carry out agreements signed in historic summit meetings between the two
countries' leaders in 2000 and 2007.
In the second summit, South Korea agreed to scores of new joint-economic projects
requiring government and civilian investment to the tune of about 40 trillion won
(US$11.9 billion). Projects include expansion of a joint industrial complex in
the North Korean border town of Kaesong and assistance in repairing old railroads
and highways and the construction of a shipyard.
More than 35,000 North Koreans are currently employed by 83 South Korean
manufacturers at the Kaesong complex, a symbol of inter-Korean peace and
cooperation. Employees earn on average US$60 a month.
Lee, however, has shown reluctance to carry out the agreements considered a key
achievement of the previous administrations. He has instead offered to begin
dialogue with Pyongyang on "practical ways" to implement the projects.
Anti-Pyongyang leaflets regularly being sent across the border via balloons by
South Korean civic groups appear to be another reason for Pyongyang's latest show
of hostility. Pyongyang has repeatedly threatened to take retaliatory measures
unless Seoul stops the civic-groups' activities, including possibly shutting down
the Kaesong complex.
The North has described the leaflets -- which elaborate on North Korean leader
Kim Jong-il's luxurious private life as well as rumors of his illness -- an
unpardonable challenge to the North's "supreme sovereignty."
U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials have said the 66-year-old North
Korean leader suffered a stroke in August. The North has vehemently denied those
reports.
South Korean civic groups, many of whose members are North Korean defectors, have
continued to send the leaflets despite Pyongyang's threats and requests from
Seoul to halt their activities.
Experts say the North is unlikely to soon take any decisive measure, such as
closing down the Kaesong complex, but is likely to gradually escalate tension in
hopes of persuading Seoul to change its stance.
"North Korea did not take any immediate steps to shut overland crossings, which
shows things can change depending on the South's response," said Koh Yu-hwan,
professor at Dongguk University in Seoul. "Closing the Kaesong complex could also
become a burden to the North," he added.
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- Inter-Korean relations are going from bad to worse, and could possibly be terminated with the latest volleys coming out of Pyongyang.
North Korea hurled a torrent of threats against South Korea on Wednesday,
announcing plans to "strictly restrict or shut" overland passages across the
inter-Korean border next month, shutter its Red Cross mission at the truce
village of Panmunjom and sever all direct telephone links passing through the
place.
The measures 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.
Political relations between the two Koreas turned sour 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. He also vowed to
challenge the neighbor's "rudeness" in dealing with the South, even at the cost
of chilled relations.
In addition to the threats, Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry issued a statement
denying that it had agreed to allow inspectors to take samples from nuclear
facilities as part of international efforts to verify its nuclear activities.
Washington insists the North had verbally agreed to the measures during a meeting
last month in Pyongyang with top U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill.
Analysts say the North's renewed threats appear to be aimed at pressuring Seoul
to drop its hardline stance towards Pyongyang and to take the upper hand in
future denuclearization talks following U.S. Democrat Barack Obama's presidential
election victory last week.
On the campaign trail, Obama repeatedly stated his willingness to meet with North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il and voiced criticism of the outgoing George W. Bush
administration's refusal to engage in diplomacy with Pyongyang.
"Pyongyang is stepping up its threats in order to press the South Korean
government back into the engagement oriented policy pursued by its two liberal
predecessors, led by President Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun," said Cheon
Seong-whun, a senior researcher at the state-run Korea Institute for National
Unification.
President Lee has also come under mounting pressure from local 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 with the
U.S. during Obama's first year in office.
"North Korea may think it's high time to put pressure on the Lee Myung-bak
administration," Cheon said.
In the North's warning to close inter-Korean border crossings, spokesmen for the
nation's military accused Lee of damaging bilateral relations by refusing to
carry out agreements signed in historic summit meetings between the two
countries' leaders in 2000 and 2007.
In the second summit, South Korea agreed to scores of new joint-economic projects
requiring government and civilian investment to the tune of about 40 trillion won
(US$11.9 billion). Projects include expansion of a joint industrial complex in
the North Korean border town of Kaesong and assistance in repairing old railroads
and highways and the construction of a shipyard.
More than 35,000 North Koreans are currently employed by 83 South Korean
manufacturers at the Kaesong complex, a symbol of inter-Korean peace and
cooperation. Employees earn on average US$60 a month.
Lee, however, has shown reluctance to carry out the agreements considered a key
achievement of the previous administrations. He has instead offered to begin
dialogue with Pyongyang on "practical ways" to implement the projects.
Anti-Pyongyang leaflets regularly being sent across the border via balloons by
South Korean civic groups appear to be another reason for Pyongyang's latest show
of hostility. Pyongyang has repeatedly threatened to take retaliatory measures
unless Seoul stops the civic-groups' activities, including possibly shutting down
the Kaesong complex.
The North has described the leaflets -- which elaborate on North Korean leader
Kim Jong-il's luxurious private life as well as rumors of his illness -- an
unpardonable challenge to the North's "supreme sovereignty."
U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials have said the 66-year-old North
Korean leader suffered a stroke in August. The North has vehemently denied those
reports.
South Korean civic groups, many of whose members are North Korean defectors, have
continued to send the leaflets despite Pyongyang's threats and requests from
Seoul to halt their activities.
Experts say the North is unlikely to soon take any decisive measure, such as
closing down the Kaesong complex, but is likely to gradually escalate tension in
hopes of persuading Seoul to change its stance.
"North Korea did not take any immediate steps to shut overland crossings, which
shows things can change depending on the South's response," said Koh Yu-hwan,
professor at Dongguk University in Seoul. "Closing the Kaesong complex could also
become a burden to the North," he added.
