N. Korea's pointman on inter-Korean relations executed: sources

SEOUL, May 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korea executed its pointman on South Korea last
year, holding him responsible for wrong predictions about Seoul's new
conservative government that has ditched a decade of engagement policy toward
Pyongyang, sources said Monday.

Choe Sung-chol, who as vice chairman of the North's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee
had pushed for bold reconciliation with Seoul's previous liberal governments,
disappeared from public sight early last year amid reports that he was fired.
Rumors spread in January that he was forced to work at a chicken farm, but a
number of sources privy to North Korean internal affairs told Yonhap News Agency
that Choe was executed last year to shoulder the blame for his judgments on Seoul
that proved wrong.
North Korea took some time to gauge South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's policy
after his inauguration in February last year and started unleashing acerbic
criticism in April.
The sources said the North Korean authorities ostensibly accused Choe of
corruption, but their real intention was to punish the dovish official for the
questionable outcome of the past decade of reconciliation with the South.
"Despite hardliners' objections, Mr. Choe had strongly pushed for progress in
relations with the South under Seoul's Roh Moo-hyun government," the source said.
"But inter-Korean relations deteriorated after the government change in the
South, and he was blamed for the 'misjudgments' and all other fallout," the
source said.
Choe, also a deputy director of the Workers' Party inter-Korean department, came
into the public spotlight in 2007, when he escorted Roh throughout his visit to
Pyongyang for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. He is also known to
have played a key role in arranging the summit and briefed Kim personally.
Another source said the North Korean government held him accountable for the
unwanted impact from North Korea's dependence on the capitalist South that has
grown with economic exchanges. The Lee administration cut off unconditional rice
and fertilizer aid to the North and has taken a tougher stance on its nuclear
weapons program.
Pyongyang punished Choe for planting fantasies about South Korea in North Korean
society, the source said.
Seoul's Unification Ministry earlier acknowledged Choe's dismissal, but could not
confirm his whereabouts or why he was sacked.
The sources said the North Korean government launched an investigation into
officials handling South Korean economic aid in 2007. What began as a corruption
probe, however, turned into a politically motivated purge as inter-Korean
relations slid into a stalemate, they said.
One of the sources said, "Mr. Choe was not the kind of person whose behavior
could have led to execution on corruption charges."
"Even if he did engage in corruption, that wouldn't have been a problem when
relations were good. But when inter-Korean policy has to be changed at a time of
worsening relations, a moderate official like Mr. Choe has no ground to stand
on," the source said.
Choe, a self-made man born into a working-class family in 1956, rapidly climbed
the career ladder as inter-Korean relations blossomed. He represented the North
Korean delegation to the Red Cross talks with the Kim Dae-jung administration and
further expanded his role as the chief inter-Korean policymaker during the Roh
era.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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