Unification minister nominee defends hardline policy on N. Korea

By Kim Hyun

SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Yonhap) -- In a bruising confirmation hearing on Monday, President Lee Myung-bak's nominee for unification minister defended Lee's tough policy on North Korea and said he will seek dialogue to change Pyongyang's hostile reaction.

Hyun In-taek toned down his hawkish stance toward North Korea, vowing to consider
humanitarian aid and respect inter-Korean summit accords, but his broad remarks
failed to dispel the strong aversion to his appointment by opposition parties.
"Some say it's conservative and hardline, but that's not true," Hyun said, asked
by ruling party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun to explain Lee's policy theme, called
'Denuclearization, Openness, 3000.' "It's a policy of co-existence and
co-prosperity for both South and North Korea."
Hyun, a political science professor at Korea University in Seoul, was the major
architect behind Lee's 'Denuclearization, Openness, 3000" campaign, which pledged
to help Pyongyang raise the country's gross domestic income to US$3,000 if it
abandons its nuclear program.
Pyongyang has consistently berated the capitalist policy as "anti-unification,"
accusing Seoul of seeking to absorb the communist country.
"If we offer dialogue to North Korea with sincerity, I believe we can clear the
misunderstandings and resolve inter-Korean relations," he said.
Rep. Park Sang-cheon of the major opposition Democratic Party berated Hyun for
repeating his principles "without substance."
Hyun said, "We will consider various measures to resume inter-Korean relations
with what we can do, such as offering humanitarian assistance."
Hyun's remarks during the hearing are expected to be closely monitored by
Pyongyang, which warned on Sunday that "inter-Korean relations will grow worse
and be pushed to collapse" should Hyun take office.
Pyongyang cut off dialogue following Lee's inauguration a year ago. The North
began threatening military clashes last month, and it recently vowed to take an
"all-out confrontational posture" against the South and declared all peace
accords void, in what appeared to be an increasingly bellicose campaign to make
Seoul give up its hardline policy.
Lee's nomination of Hyun in a Cabinet reshuffle last month signaled there would
be no change in his policy despite rising military tension.
The nominee partly acknowledged criticism that he had no expertise in
inter-Korean relations.
The pro-U.S. scholar repeated his position that Seoul should closely work with
regional allies, the United States and Japan, to resolve the North Korean nuclear
issue. He also said there is "feasibility" to reports that North Korea may have
acquired nuclear weapons, but refused to acknowledge the North as a nuclear
state.
The National Assembly has no power to veto the nomination, though it examines
nominee's suitability in a one-day hearing.
Lee had to withdrew his nomination of Nam Joo-hong as the first unification
minister following his inauguration in February last year under pressure from
opposition parties and civic circles who questioned the hardliner's ability to
improve inter-Korean ties.