Parliament speaker delivers concerns to N. Korea, U.N. chief on chilled ties

SEOUL, March 11 (Yonhap) -- The speaker for South Korea's parliament expressed
deep concerns on Wednesday over deteriorating inter-Korean relations in letters
sent out to North Korea's titular head of state and chief of the United Nations.
Prompted by a National Assembly resolution adopted last week, Speaker Kim Hyung-o
said South Korea's parliament worries the North's recent behavior will have a
negative effect on maintaining inter-Korean peace and advancing inter-Korean
ties.
"We hope (for North Korea) to take practical measures to soothe inter-Korean
tension and normalize cross-border relations as soon as possible," Kim said in
the letter forwarded to Kim Yong-nam, president of the North's Presidium of the
Supreme People's Assembly and the country's nominal head of state.
Inter-Korean relations have dipped to their lowest point in a decade since South
Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office about a year ago, adopting a tougher
stance on North Korea's nuclear program and withdrawing Seoul's unconditional aid
to the North.
Tensions on the divided peninsula have been running high amid fears that
Pyongyang might be trying to test-fire a long-range missile, which Pyongyang
claims is a satellite. The North has been issuing statements threatening an
imminent clash with the South and last week warned it could no longer guarantee
the safety of South Korean flights passing through its airspace.
In the letter addressed to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, a former South
Korean foreign minister, the speaker sought active support from the global body
in easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The South Korean National Assembly adopted a resolution on March 2 calling on the
North to refrain from provocative statements and behavior and to immediately
return to the dialogue table. The resolution also called on Seoul to provide
humanitarian aid to the North.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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