Cheong Wa Dae vows not to change N. Korea policy despite worker's release

SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will not change its North Korea policy
despite the North's release Thursday of a South Korean worker after nearly 140
days of detention, the presidential office said, suggesting the chill between the
divided Koreas will continue at least for some time.

"It seems a bit too late, but it is a relief that Yu is finally returning to his
family," Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said, referring to the detained
worker who was seized in late March at a joint industrial park in the North's
border town of Kaesong.
The North accused the Hyundai Asan worker of slandering its political system and
trying to incite defection by a female North Korean worker at Kaesong.
His release Thursday came as the head of his South Korean employer and the
developer of the Kaesong complex, Hyundai Asan, was on an extended trip to
Pyongyang for a possible meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
"The government will continue to maintain its policy consistency toward North
Korea," Lee told reporters.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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