U.S. welcomes N. Korea's proposals for inter-Korean business ties resumption

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (Yonhap) -- The United States Monday welcomed North Korea's
decision to allow resumption of inter-Korean tour projects and reunions of
families separated since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

In a daily news briefing, Philip Crowley, assistant secretary of state for public
affairs, however, said Washington will continue sanctioning North Korea until
Pyongyang takes irreversible steps toward its denuclearization.
"You know, clearly these are welcome steps, in and of themselves, as discrete
gestures," he said. "Obviously, small gestures that might open the door for
renewed dialogue, between North Korea and South Korea, is a welcome step."
After a four-hour meeting Sunday between North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and Hyun
Jung-eun, chairwoman of South Korea's Hyundai Group, North Korea announced an
agreement with Hyundai earlier in the day that calls for resumption of Hyundai's
business operations in the North, suspended since last year after the advent of
South Korea's hardline Lee Myung-bak government.
The tour projects, which brought South Korean tourists to the North's scenic
Kumgang Mountain on the east coast and its medieval capital city of Kaesong, were
suspended last summer when North Korea shot dead a South Korean tourist who
strayed into a military zone in the Kumgang resort.
The operation of the joint industrial park in Kaesong, which borders South Korea,
has also faltered as the North has restricted a flow of cargo and personnel to
and from the park, and demanded a sizable hike in rent and salaries for more than
40,000 North Korean employees of more than 100 South Korean firms there.
The South Korean government said it welcomed the North's proposals as a
"positive" response, but added that dialogue between the governments should
precede implementation.
The North's proposals are seen by many as an attempt to dilute international
sanctions after its nuclear and missile tests in recent months. The inter-Korean
projects also brought in hard currency to the cash-strapped regime.
The proposals also came amid allegations that Kim Jong-il might feel now is the
time to return to negotiations after having demonstrated the North's military
capabilities, which apparently enhanced his stature in the process of an
unprecedented third-generation power transition to his third and youngest son,
Jong-un, 26.
"One might infer that North Korea is feeling some pressure, whether it's
political pressure, economic pressure or a combination of the two," Crowley said.
"We continue to work with others in the region to fully implement U.N. Security
Council resolutions and in fact to apply that kind of pressure, you know, to get
North Korea's attention."
He urged the North to take steps toward denuclearization.
"These marginal steps in and of themselves are not enough," he said. "We continue
to reiterate what North Korea has to do. You know, we expect them to abide by
their obligations, international obligations, by their agreement under the 2005
agreement."
The six-party agreement signed in September 2005 between the two Koreas, the
U.S., China, Japan and Russia calls for North Korea's denuclearization in return
for massive economic aid, diplomatic recognition by Washington and Tokyo and a
permanent peace regime to replace an armistice that ended the Korean War.
North Korea has said it will boycott the six-party talks due to the international
sanctions and perceived U.S. hostility, demanding that Washington deal with
Pyongyang bilaterally for a breakthrough.
The U.S. wants the North to return to the six-party talks first and then have
face-to-face negotiations within that framework.
"We want to see them take definitive steps, irreversible steps, towards
denuclearization," Crowley said. "That will be the kinds of steps that show that
they have made a fundamental calculation to move in a different direction than
they currently have."
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)