Seoul calls on Pyongyang to respect inter-Korean peace accord

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Thursday urged North Korea stop raising
tension and come back to the dialogue table as it marked the anniversary of a
1991 non-aggression accord that Pyongyang has declared void.
"Our government believes this agreement should be respected by the South and the
North and that it should be implemented through discussion," Unification Ministry
spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun said in a briefing.
On this date in 1991, the Koreas ratified the South-North Basic Agreement on
Reconciliation, Nonaggression and Exchanges and Cooperation, pledging not to
invade each other and to work together towards reconciliation. The accord also
technically recognized the western sea border in the Yellow Sea, stating that it
can be revised later when the two parties reach a consensus.
The Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea was drawn unilaterally by the
U.N. Command after the Korean War, and Pyongyang has insisted it should be
redrawn further south. Two bloody naval skirmishes occurred in the past decade,
leaving scores of soldiers dead and wounded on both sides.
The basic accord laid the cornerstone for inter-Korean reconciliation after the
Cold War era, leading to leaders' summits in 2000 and 2007.
But relations have frozen since the conservative President Lee Myung-bak took
office in Seoul a year ago, adopting a tough stance on economic aid and
Pyongyang's nuclear program. North Korea cut off dialogue and Seoul has suspended
food aid.
North Korea in recent weeks has threatened military clashes in an apparent bid to
soften the Lee government's hardline stance. On Jan. 17, Pyongyang vowed to take
an "all-out confrontational posture" against Seoul, and two weeks later, it
declared all political and military agreements with South Korea void and said it
will no longer respect the NLL.
Last Friday, North Korea heightened its warning, saying the western sea border
"can no longer work" and that it will "thoroughly crush" South Korean troops
should they intrude "even one inch" into its maritime territory.
"Our government urges North Korea to entirely suspend its denunciations and
provocative behavior and come forward to hold dialogue as soon as possible," the
Seoul spokesman said.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)