ID :
56880
Wed, 04/22/2009 - 18:17
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/56880
The shortlink copeid
Cheong Wa Dae says Seoul will continue talking to N. Korea
By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, April 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will continue to work with North Korea
through dialogue to ease tension between the divided Koreas and resolve issues,
an official at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday, one day
after North Korea demanded South Korean firms start paying more money to maintain
a joint industrial park.
"It can be said that a momentum for talks has now been secured," the official
told reporters of the inter-Korean dialogue held Tuesday in the North's border
town of Kaesong.
At the meeting, North Korea demanded negotiations to revise current agreements
that govern the joint industrial park in Kaesong, including payment of land use
fees from next year. The fees were initially waived for 10 years.
Seoul responded with its own proposal for a fresh round of talks between the two
Koreas to discuss inter-Korean and other related issues.
The Cheong Wa Dae official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the
government has yet to decide how to react to the North Korean demands.
"We are still in a phase where we still have to analyze (the demands) to figure
out what their true intentions are," he said.
The official noted South Korean businesses at Kaesong will likely oppose any
sudden increase in their costs, but hinted at possible concessions.
"Sometimes, strictly abiding by principles and rules is not the right thing to
do. In that sense, we must approach this issue from a strategic and practical
point of view," the official told reporters.
At Tuesday's meeting, North Korea also criticized Seoul's move to join the
Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), saying South Korea's membership in the
U.S.-led anti-proliferation campaign will be considered a "declaration of
confrontation," sources said earlier.
The Cheong Wa Dae official said the PSI has little to do with North Korea, but
noted Seoul's announcement may be delayed because of this rare "momentum" for
inter-Korean dialogue.
"Our decision on the PSI remains unchanged ... but what is more important right
now, and I am not saying PSI is not important, is to figure out what North
Korea's true intentions are," the official said.
Seoul had planned to announce its full participation in the PSI last week, but
the announcement was delayed after North Korea proposed the Kaesong talks last
Thursday.
The meeting Tuesday marked the first official dialogue between the two Koreas at
the government level since South Korea's Lee Myung-bak administration was
inaugurated some 14 months ago.
Pyongyang regularly accuses the Lee government of raising tension and trying to
stifle its communist regime.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, April 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will continue to work with North Korea
through dialogue to ease tension between the divided Koreas and resolve issues,
an official at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday, one day
after North Korea demanded South Korean firms start paying more money to maintain
a joint industrial park.
"It can be said that a momentum for talks has now been secured," the official
told reporters of the inter-Korean dialogue held Tuesday in the North's border
town of Kaesong.
At the meeting, North Korea demanded negotiations to revise current agreements
that govern the joint industrial park in Kaesong, including payment of land use
fees from next year. The fees were initially waived for 10 years.
Seoul responded with its own proposal for a fresh round of talks between the two
Koreas to discuss inter-Korean and other related issues.
The Cheong Wa Dae official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the
government has yet to decide how to react to the North Korean demands.
"We are still in a phase where we still have to analyze (the demands) to figure
out what their true intentions are," he said.
The official noted South Korean businesses at Kaesong will likely oppose any
sudden increase in their costs, but hinted at possible concessions.
"Sometimes, strictly abiding by principles and rules is not the right thing to
do. In that sense, we must approach this issue from a strategic and practical
point of view," the official told reporters.
At Tuesday's meeting, North Korea also criticized Seoul's move to join the
Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), saying South Korea's membership in the
U.S.-led anti-proliferation campaign will be considered a "declaration of
confrontation," sources said earlier.
The Cheong Wa Dae official said the PSI has little to do with North Korea, but
noted Seoul's announcement may be delayed because of this rare "momentum" for
inter-Korean dialogue.
"Our decision on the PSI remains unchanged ... but what is more important right
now, and I am not saying PSI is not important, is to figure out what North
Korea's true intentions are," the official said.
Seoul had planned to announce its full participation in the PSI last week, but
the announcement was delayed after North Korea proposed the Kaesong talks last
Thursday.
The meeting Tuesday marked the first official dialogue between the two Koreas at
the government level since South Korea's Lee Myung-bak administration was
inaugurated some 14 months ago.
Pyongyang regularly accuses the Lee government of raising tension and trying to
stifle its communist regime.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
