ROK and Inter-Korean relations March 2004

ROK and Inter-Korean relations

March 2004

Tears and joy at latest reunion
MOUNT GEUMGANG ? Emotional scenes again took place yesterday when, for the ninth time, families separated by the line between North and South Korea were reunited.
Professor Song Gets 7-Year Prison Term
By Kim Rahn Staff Reporter The Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday sentenced Korean-German scholar Song Du-yul to seven years in prison for violating the National Security Law
``He provided theoretical basis for Kim Il- sung's ideology to spread in the South with academic writings and contributions leaning toward the ideology, and helped raise pro-North organizations. Freedom of study and conscience can be limited for national security and order,'' Lee said.
It also found him not guilty on charges of making a silent prayer at a North Korean office in Berlin in July 1997 commemorating Kim Il- sung's death, as it was done overseas and Song is a foreign national.
He came back to the South despite the expected punishment, and the society should acknowledge his academic achievements.'' ``However, we pass down a heavy punishment, as joining the workers' party is a serious violation of the security law. He has kept denying his activities and shown no regret over his pro-North academic activities,'' the court said.
Song was indicted on the charges of violating National Security Law by joining the North's ruling party and working to spread the communist ideology, as well as visiting the country 22 times from 1973 until last year for Kim's funeral and academic meetings. [human rights] [National Security Law]
Separated Families Chat With Long-Lost Kin
By Joint Press Corps and Staff Reporter Yoo Dong- ho MT. KUMGANG _ South and North Korean family members, who have never seen their kin on the other side of the border for more than half a century, held a second day of meetings on Tuesday at a North Korean mountain resort here.
Parties Clash Over NK Human Rights
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter With the United Nations to vote on a resolution next month to press North Korea to improve its human rights conditions, the three main political parties in South Korea are approaching the issue based on their respective party lines.
Cash-for-summit verdicts upheld
Guilty verdicts against four key figures in the North Korea cash-for-summit scandal were upheld by the Supreme Court, the court said yesterday. The four men ? Lim Dong-won, former head of the National Intelligence Service; Lee Keun-young, former president of the Korea Development Bank; Park Sang-bae, former vice president of the bank, and Kim Yoon-kyu, former president of Hyundai Asan ? are key figures in the scandal, which involved the Kim Dae-jung administration secretly sending $450 million in cash to North Korea in return for the North's agreement to hold the June 2000 inter-Korean summit. They were found guilty, but appealed. All received suspended sentences. "The defendants' sending of $450 million to North Korea without the permission of the South Korean unification and finance ministries, when preparations for the summit had already been launched, is illegal," the court's decision read.
Comic Punishment of Political Satire
A university student has been indicted for creating digital images of Choe Byung Yul, who has since stepped down as chairman of the Grand National Party (GNP), and Chough Soon Hyung, chairman of the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), then placing the results on the internet [human rights]
Youth and Students in North, South and Overseas Meet
Pyongyang, March 25 (KCNA) -- A meeting of representatives of youth and student organizations in the north, the south and overseas for implementing the June 15 joint declaration was held in Shenyang, China, on March 21
Supreme Court Confirms Guilty Verdict in 'Cash- for-Summit' Scandal
By Byun Duk-kun Staff Reporter The Supreme Court on Sunday upheld a lower court ruling that a senior aide to former President Kim Dae-jung and three others were guilty of illegally sending $450 million to North Korea just days before the historic inter-Korean summit in 2000. The court confirmed an 18-month suspended prison term for Lim Dong-won, former director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and a one- year suspended jail sentence for Hyundai Asan president Kim Yoon-kyu.
S-N Family Reunions Due at Mt. Kumgang
By Joint Press Corps and Staff Reporter Yoo Dong- ho SOKCHO - A group of 100 South Koreans who were separated from family members by the 1950-53 Korean War will meet their long-lost kin from the North on Monday at the scenic Mt. Kumgang.
Pyongyang Cautious in Dealing With Park Geun-hye
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter North Korea is maintaining a cautious attitude on Park Geun-hye who was recently elected new leader of the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) although it had continued to attack the GNP and its former chairman Choe Byung-yul until Park grasped the party's top post in a national convention on March 23
Written Warning to U.S.
Pyongyang, March 24 (KCNA) -- The Headquarters of the Movement for the General Election to Judge the Old Politics on Behalf of the June 15 Era reportedly made public a written warning addressed to the U.S. on March 18.
S-N Family Reunions Scheduled for Next Week
By Yoo Dong-ho Staff Reporter A group of 100 South Korean family members will leave for North Korea's Mt. Kumgang Monday so they can be temporarily reunited with their long- lost kin in the North. Their three-day visit, which will be followed by a similar trip of 494 family members from the South, constitutes the 9th round of reunions for families split by the 1950-53 Korean War.
North silent on new GNP head
North Korea remained tight-lipped about the new leader of its enemy du jour, the conservative Grand National Party of South Korea. Radio Pyeongyang did not fail to call the South Korean political party "a group of traitors and the dregs of history" yesterday, but its criticism was directed at the Grand Nationals' old leader, Choe Byung-yul. The clock in Pyeongyang appeared to stop just before the Grand Nationals elected Park Geun-hye as their leader Tuesday.
4 Organizers of Candlelight Vigils Face Arrest
By Na Jeong-ju Staff Reporter The prosecution on Friday requested arrest warrants for four key organizers of candlelight vigils held to demand that the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun be revoked. The action came after the government vowed stern legal action against the organizers of the massive rallies that authorities ruled could influence the outcome of the April 15 general elections. ``The so-called anti-impeachment rallies could incite voters into choosing certain politicians and political parties ahead of the elections,'' Ahn Chang-ho, a prosecutor at the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office, told reporters. [human rights]
Gov't to Ban Candlelight Rallies From April 2
Politicians Use Religion to Drum Up Support
By Shim Jae-yun Staff Reporter A dispute has surfaced over the religion of the leaders of the three major parties since Park Geun-hye, new leader of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP), visited sanctuaries representing the three major religions here. Park dropped by the Catholic church in Myongdong, the Christian Yongnak church and the Buddhist Chogye temple on March 24, a day after she was inaugurated as the opposition party's leader, replacing Choe Byung-yul. Many have doubted her religious convictions due to Park's activities involving the three different religions.
Politicized civil servants face crackdown
Anti-impeachment rallies draw middle class
By David Scofield_ _ SEOUL - Much to the chagrin of South Korea's conservatives, the anti- impeachment protests that began at the announcement of President Roh Moo-hyun's ouster are showing no signs of abating. In fact, despite being branded illegal by police, these demonstrations-cum festivals are getting larger, with no end in sight. _ _ Unlike the violent street protests of recent months, when scorned unionists, farmers and the unemployed used pipes, clubs and Molotov cocktails to make their point, these protests - far larger in scale - are peaceful by any standard. The candlelight gatherings are inclusive, replete with families, students and even resident foreigners. More than 130,000 gathered in Seoul alone this past weekend and were even careful to clean up and remove debris when they finished. _
The legions of average citizens who gathered to protest in the downtown cores of all the nation's cities are not necessarily supporters of Roh, but rather stand in strong opposition to what is widely viewed as a perversion of democracy.
David Scofield, former lecturer at the Graduate Institute of Peace Studies, Kyung Hee University, is currently conducting post-graduate research at the School of East Asian Studies, Sheffield University.
Nostalgia launched Park's career
Park Geun-hye, the newly-elected chairman of the Grand National Party, has long said that she would not walk in the shadow of her father, President Park Chung Hee, who was assassinated in 1979 after ruling South Korea with an iron grip for 18 years. Nevertheless, Ms. Park, 52, is inexorably associated with her father, and with her mother, Yuk Young-soo. Even her hairstyle resembles the 1970s coiffure many Koreans remember her late mother wearing.
600th Wednesday Rallies in S. Korea
Pyongyang, March 21 (KCNA) -- The 600th Wednesday rallies for the settlement of the issue of "comfort women" for the Japanese army were held in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul and at more than ten universities including Hanyang University and Jeonnam National University at the same time on March 17,
New Leader Prays for Revival of GNP's Fortunes
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Park Geun-hye, new leader of the Grand National Party (GNP), made deep bows one after another for around two hours to Buddha on Wednesday to show her determination to keep the promises of reforming the beleaguered majority party.
Controversy Erupts over Online Political Parodies
Police, NEC Vow to Crack Down on Internet Violators By Kim Rahn Staff Reporter The arrest of a university student Tuesday for circulating images on the Internet parodying opposition parties and their leaders has sparked a backlash from netizens who believe the police are limiting their freedom of expression. Police arrested a 21-year-old college student, identified as Kwon, on charges of posting on his homepage and other 14 Web sites manipulated images indicating that the opposition parties would lose April 15 general elections. [human rights]
What a difference an impeachment makes
Two polls of the most competitive districts in the upcoming legislative elections show a major swing to Our Open Party in the aftermath of the impeachment of the president
Park Elected as GNP Leader
Park Geun-hye was elected as new leader of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) on Tuesday. Park received 51.8 percent, with Hong Sa-duk coming in second with 28.8 percent. [Park Chung-hee]
North labels impeachment a stumbling block to Ties
North Korea turned up the volume of its complaints about South Korea's political situation over the weekend. It argued that the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun has disturbed inter-Korean relations. Seoul has warned its northern rival not to interfere, but to little effect. "South Korea is experiencing a power vacuum and anarchy, and we face an abnormal situation in which talks and negotiations cannot be carried out properly," the secretariat of North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said. "Opinions at home and abroad are that the impeachment will affect serious issues such as inter-Korean relations and the six-party talks," the broadcast said. The committee is in charge of Pyeongyang's relations with South Korea.
KCNA Blasts S. Korean Authorities' Anti-North Confrontation Strategy
Pyongyang, March 18 (KCNA) -- The "National Security Council" of south Korea set out "a four- point basic security policy strategy" in its book on the security policy conception "peace, prosperity and national security" published recently. The book defined the army and people of the DPRK as a "direct threat", underscoring the need to "maintain military muscle strong enough to lead the anti-DPRK deterrent force" to cope with it and build up self-reliant elite military forces in the future so that they may "play a major role in deterring the north." This is an unpardonable anti-national, anti- reunification crime and an intolerable insult to the army and people of the DPRK desirous of national cooperation
KCNA Slams Parliamentary Coup in S. Korea
KCNA Slams Unreasonable Judgment upon Korean Social Scientist Overseas
Pyongyang, March 17 (KCNA) -- The Seoul Central District Prosecution proposed 15 years in jail for Song Tu Ryul, a social scientist in Germany, on March 9, according to the south Korean KBS. The south Korean authorities demanded such a heavy penalty for him on a false charge after detaining and investigating him who had visited his hometown last year.
As for Song, he emigrated to other country long ago, disillusioned with the military fascist dictatorial regime while struggling for democratization in south Korea. It is nonsensical to assert that he should be punished for paying several visits to the north of the divided country, though he did so with kindred feelings. [Song Du-yul] [Human rights]
Massive Anti-Impeachment Protests Held
Roh Supporters Push Evening Rallies Defying Gov't Warning Despite a government warning, tens of thousands of supporters of President Roh Moo-hyun participated in a candlelight rally in Seoul and elsewhere Saturday evening, protesting the opposition-dominated National Assembly's impeachment of President Roh on March 12
Massive Anti-Impeachment Rallies Planned Saturday
Police on Alert to Block Violent, Illegal Demonstrations By Na Jeong-ju Staff Reporter Despite the government's warning to crack down on evening assemblies, a civic coalition will hold massive candlelight vigils around the nation Saturday to demand the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun be made void.
NEC Cracks Down on Illegal Cyber Campaigning
By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter The National Election Commission (NEC) has started to crack down on illegal campaigning on the Internet ahead of the April 15 general elections.
Seoul Regrets Pyongyang's Remarks on Impeachment
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun on Thursday expressed regret over North Korea's negative references to the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun. ``It is very regretful that the North is trying to portray that the United States is behind the impeachment,'' Jeong said in a weekly briefing at the ministry.
"Impeachment" Denounced in S. Korea
Pyongyang, March 16 (KCNA) -- A campaign has been staged in all parts of south Korea on March 13 to denounce the racket of "impeachment against the president", according to south Korean KBS and MBC.
Professors Join Protest Against Impeachment
Some of the nation's college professors on Tuesday decided to join a civic coalition in protesting the opposition's impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun
`Netizens' Go Too Far in Denouncing Impeachment
By Byun Duk-kun Staff Reporter The National Election Commission (NEC) and the police on Tuesday vowed to punish Internet users going too far in slandering opposition party lawmakers for voting for the impeachment motion against President Roh Moo-hyun. ``We have secured a number of articles among those posted on the Internet to denounce the impeachment motion that may have violated the election law,'' a police official was quoted as saying. The NEC and the police are now trying to trace the original authors of the slanderous articles, according to the official.
The police said such an act of `reposting' a slanderous article may also be subject to punishment according to the election law. The only problem is that there are just too many. [human rights][National Security Law]
Families of dead agents protest lack of government action
Families of dead secret agents who were trained to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Il-sung demonstrate Thursday at the Defense Ministry in Yongsan, central Seoul. Like the Lee family, Kim's kin have tried everything to learn what really happened to the men. "I kept questioning it when I was serving my term in the Army in 1973," he said. "Those were the times when you could get killed if you questioned the government and no one would know what happened. I was even beaten by military police. They advised me not to talk any more nonsense."
However, according to a program broadcast by SBS-TV in February, most were just poor peasants aged 19 to 36. Soon after the documentary, the Defense Ministry verified the names of seven missing men from Okcheon, confirming they were Silmido agents. The ministry, however, has not acknowledged they were just ordinary young men and not criminals.
Late last month, a group of former Unit 684 instructors filed a petition to Cheong Wa Dae, the Prime Minister's Office, the Defense Ministry, the Korean Air Force and the National Human Rights Commission. They want compensation for their suffering. The petitioners, some of them survivors of the bloody trainees' revolt, did not receive part of the allowance promised by the government for their service in Silmido. They have suffered mentally and physically ever since, according to Lee Jun-young, who represents the group. It has been reported that since the 1950s there have been dozens of secret units like Silmido, including the Headquarters of Intelligence Detachment or HID unit. Lawmaker Kim Sung-ho recently reported that the number of these special agents killed while on duty exceeds 7,700. [Unit 684]
Defector group seeks to indict Kim Dae-jung
A group of North Korean defectors lodged a legal petition yesterday requesting that the Seoul Central Prosecutors Office indict former President Kim Dae-jung for National Security Law Violations
Protesters ignore efforts by police to stop Rallies
Despite a police declaration yesterday that they would disperse candlelight rallies called to denounce the impeachment of the president, thousands of citizens continued their protests last night, though in a restricted way
Indeed, a police agency official who asked for anonymity said, "We said we would break up rallies after dark, but it will be difficult for us to stick to our promises given that many old and feeble people also join."
Seoul Tells Pyongyang Not to Stall 6-Way Nuke Talks
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter Seoul would have to doubt Pyongyang's will for a peaceful halt to the nuclear standoff, if it adopted a ``stalling'' strategy on account of South Korea's political crisis, Foreign Affairs- Trade Minister Ban Ki-moon said on Monday.
Uri Party Brims With Confidence
By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter If the pro-government Uri Party had a face, it would be beaming wide. The sense of confidence from its skyrocketing popularity following the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun was everywhere in its decrepit new headquarters located near a market in Yongdungpo. The Uri Party recently moved there from one of the most expensive buildings in the financial district of Yoido, Seoul.
NK Defector Hwang Resumes Activities
By Kim Rahn Staff Reporer High-ranking North Korean defector Hwang Jang- yop was reported to have presented himself before the public last Saturday for the first time since he suspended his activities after he received a death threat on March 8.
Tens of thousands turn out for rallies to back President
Public anger over the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun took the form of mass rallies over the weekend with tens of thousands of supporters of the president gathering in candlelight vigils in downtown Seoul. Called out by more than 500 civic groups, 40,000 people, according to police, held a candlelight vigil yesterday evening in Gwanghwamun, in the center of Seoul. The groups' leaders issued a statement, saying, "Do not regard the current events as a fight between those who support Mr. Roh and those who do not. This is a fight to defend democracy against the challenge of the National Assembly which is engaged in reactionary and corrupt politics."
North Korea seeks change on talks site
Amid post-impeachment political uncertainty, North Korea demanded yesterday that the location of the working-level economic talks be changed to Gaesong, North Korea. The talks were scheduled to open in the South's Paju, Gyeonggi province.
Opposition Hurt by Defections to Uri Party
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter An increasing number of politicians associated with the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) on Monday defected to the pro-government Uri Party as public sentiment turned further against the opposition following the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun Friday.
Thousands in South Korea protest impeachment; North reacts
02:19 AM EST Mar 15 JAE-SUK YOO SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Tens of thousands of anti-impeachment demonstrators streamed into the streets on Sunday, as North Korea asked that economic talks with the South be switched to the North because of "uncertainty" over the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun.
Opposition Toward Roh's Impeachment Spreads
By Byun Duk-kun Staff Reporter Public turmoil over the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun is spreading fast throughout the nation as tens of thousands of citizens took to the streets for the third consecutive day on Sunday in Seoul to protest what they claim to be a political ploy of the opposition parties.
DPRK's Principled Stand on S. Korea's Security Policy Strategy Clarified
Pyongyang, March 12 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the National Reconciliation Council clarified the principled stand of the north side in a statement issued Friday as regards the south Korean authorities' recent release of the "four- point basic security policy strategy". The statement termed the basic strategy as a Cold War-oriented strategy for confrontation with the north as it diametrically runs counter to the June 15 joint declaration to which the north and the south committed themselves to remain true.
7 Out of 10 Oppose Impeachment
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter An overwhelming majority of South Korean people were found to be thinking the National Assembly's impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun as ``wrong,'' a poll showed on Friday.
It's All About April Elections
PRESIDENT'S IMPEACHMENT STIRS ANGRY PROTESTS IN SOUTH KOREA
By SAMUEL LEN Published: March 13, 2004 SEOUL, South Korea, Saturday, March 13 - With just a month to go before crucial National Assembly elections, South Korea entered uncharted political waters on Saturday after President Roh Moo Hyun was impeached and stripped of power by the National Assembly, unleashing protests in the capital.
South Korea's Roh forced to step down
George Wright and agencies Friday March 12, 2004
Divided S. Koreans Impeach President
Violence Breaks Out Among Legislators By Anthony Faiola and Joohee Cho Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, March 12, 2004; Page A12 TOKYO, March 12 -- President Roh Moo Hyun on Friday became South Korea's first leader in history to be impeached, losing his constitutional powers in the climax of a political struggle that left South Koreans more sharply divided than at any point since the restoration of democracy in 1987.
Roh Impeached
The National Assembly impeached President Roh Moo-hyun Friday morning, suspending his constitutional powers in an action unprecedented in this country. At the Assembly, lawmakers approved the impeachment motion 193-2. Legislators from Our Open Party, which supports Mr. Roh, had been physically ejected from the chamber by security guards.
Song describes jail as mirror of society
[human rights] [National Security Law] Song Du-yul, a Korean-German sociologist indicted for violating the country's stringent National Security Law, has sent his supporters two letters, one of which read, "The detention center is a good reflection of Korean society." Mr. Song said the detention center where he lives is full of politicians and businessmen as well as condemned criminals, who as a group are teaching him a lot. An association demanding the release of Mr. Song made the letters public yesterday. Mr. Song was detained and indicted on a charge that he promoted North Korean ideologies
Spokesman for KPA Navy Command on S. Korean Military Authorities' Moves
Pyongyang, March 14 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Navy Command of the Korean People's Army gave the following answer to a question put by KCNA Thursday as regards the south Korean military authorities' disturbing moves to dispatch more armed forces to waters close to the territorial waters of the north side in the West Sea of Korea under the pretext of intercepting Chinese fishing boats with the advent of blue crab picking season:
This year alone south Korean navy warships intruded into the territorial waters of the north side in the West Sea of Korea more than 40 times. Fortunately, no unpleasant incident occurred there entirely thanks to a high degree of self-restraint and patience on the part of the KPA servicemen who do not want the escalated tensions between the north and the south. But there is a limit to their self-restraint and patience.
[Belligerence] [Role of SK military] [NLL]
Roh Relieved of Duties for Six Months Pending Constitutional Court Ruling
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter The nation's first-ever motion to impeach, with the charge against President Roh Moo-hyun, on Friday passed the National Assembly. A total of 193 opposition lawmakers voted in favor of the impeachment motion that was filed for the violation of election law exceeded the required 181 votes, with two thirds of 271 incumbent lawmakers. Only two lawmakers objected. Roh, who became the head of state in a surprise election victory 13 months ago, is now relieved of his presidential powers but retains some privileges. Prime Minister Goh Kun will act on his behalf for the next six months.
Nation in Utter Shock With Impeachment of State Leader
By Soh Ji-young Staff Reporter The nation on Friday responded with utter shock and disbelief, after the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion against President Roh Moo-hyun, expressing fears that what was thought to be impossible has become cold reality.
Police, Military Put on High Alert
By Soh Ji-young Staff Reporter As the country remains stunned over the passing of the impeachment motion against President Roh Moo-hyun, the National Police Agency on Friday put all police forces under high alert and instructed heightened security around major public buildings
Foreigners Dismiss Impeachment as Political Ploy
By Byun Duk-kun Staff Reporter The foreign community in South Korea on Wednesday dismissed the move by the country's opposition political parties to impeach President Roh Moo-hyun by saying it is only the last strain of the opposition's political strife aimed at the general elections. ``I don't think the impeachment motion was just and I think it was only a desperate move by the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) to save itself because the Uri party was expected to do better in the upcoming general elections,'' Michael Breen, a Seoul-based British expert on Korean affairs, said in an interview with The Korea Times.
Parties present bill to impeach the president
A motion to impeach President Roh Moo-hyun was submitted yesterday by 159 National Assembly lawmakers, enough to present it for consideration by legislators but shy of the two- third majority needed to force Mr. Roh from office.
Increased protection for defector Hwang
15-year term asked for Song
Prosecutors said yesterday they are seeking a 15- year prison term for Song Du-yul, a Korean-born sociologist with German citizenship, now standing trial for alleged violations of South Korea's stringent National Security Law. Prosecutors last year indicted Mr. Song, alleging he had gone to North Korea, joined the Workers' Party and engaged in promoting the North's juche, or self-reliance, ideology. [Human rights]
508th Thursday Meeting Held in S. Korea
Pyongyang, March 9 (KCNA) -- The 508th Thursday Meeting was reportedly held by the Family Movement for Realizing Democracy in Seoul on Mar. 4.
S. Korean Delegation Arrives
15-Year Prison Term Sought for Prof. Song Du-yul
By Soh Ji-young Staff Reporter The state prosecution on Tuesday demanded a 15- year prison term for Korean-German scholar Song Du-yul on charges of spying for North Korea. Prosecutors said during a trial at a Seoul court that they requested the heavy sentence for Song, professor of Muenster University in Germany, accusing him of violating the anti-communist National Security Law. Prof. Song, 59, was indicted last November for acting as a member of the decision-making Politburo of North Korea's Workers Party and spreading the North's Juche, or self-reliance ideology abroad on orders by Pyongyang.
Death threat is aimed at top defector from North Korea and two others
[Hwang Jang-yop] A ghoulish death threat was directed yesterday at a former high-ranking North Korean government official who defected to South Korea.
The police are not excluding the direct involvement of North Korean authorities. North Korean expressions were used in the threats.
Since his exile in 1997, Mr. Hwang has been under special protection from the National Intelligence Service. He lives in Seoul, protected by four policemen 24 hours a day.
Seoul denies N.K. officer defected
[Media] South Korea yesterday said a report that a female North Korean officer entered the South Korean Consulate in Beijing was not true. "No such thing happened," Foreign Ministry spokesman Shin Bong-kil said. A South Korean newspaper reported Tuesday that Lt. Park Yoo-kyung, 27, a relative of someone in the North's leadership, jumped the wall of the consulate on Sunday. By some accounts, tens of thousands of North Koreans are taking refuge in northeastern China, hoping to gain asylum in South Korea after escaping their communist homeland. The number of defectors who arrived here last year was 1,281, up 12 percent from the corresponding period of 2002 when it was 1,139.
S. Korean Foreign Minister's Unreasonable Remarks Flailed
Pyongyang, March 8 (KCNA) -- The south Korean minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade during his recent visit to the United States let loose a string of balderdash that it is difficult to substantially launch on a large scale economic exchange between the north and the south unless the nuclear issue is settled
Documentary about Repatriation of North Korean Spies to Open
By Kim Tae-jong Staff Reporter More than 60 North Korean spies returned to their homeland in September 2000. They had spent nearly 30 years in a South Korean prison because they refused to disavow their political beliefs. A local documentary looks at their lives and their long and difficult journey home, not only from a political perspective but also from a humanitarian point of view.
Labor leaders to meet North's counterparts
South Korea's two umbrella unions will visit Pyeongyang for North-South labor talks tomorrow. The talks will continue until Saturday. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said yesterday they would discuss the details of a joint labor day celebration scheduled in Pyeongyang on May 1 and more cooperation and exchanges with North Korea's General Federation of Korean Trade Unions.
North Side's Principled Stand on Upcoming NAE in S. Korea
the north side's principled stand that the National Assembly election due in mid-April in south Korea should offer an occasion of punishing the Grand National Party and eliminating it from the political arena.
Human Rights in North Korea
Seoul Should Vote on U.N. Resolution Regrettably, the government plans to abstain again from voting on an United Nations resolution calling for improvement in the human rights situation in North Korea, scheduled to take place in the middle of next month.
Seoul to Stop Designating NK as Enemy
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter The government's move to discontinue use of the term ``primary enemy'' as a description of North Korea seems to be a carefully planned move which seeks to avoid controversy.
13th Inter-Korean Ministerial Talks
Pyongyang Urges Seoul to Promote National Cooperation North, South Agree to Cooperate with Each Other in 6-Party Talks
'Main enemy' is dropped as description of North Korea
In a new outline of the Roh administration's foreign and security policies, the National Security Council published a white paper yesterday, which has dropped the term "main enemy" as a description of North Korea, a characterization that has endured for 50 years. The NSC publication instead says North Korea "still remains a direct threat to our security."
Trainers of assassins ask government for payment
Trainers of a special military unit, which was created to assassinate the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, filed a petition yesterday with the government and asked to be compensated for mental anguish. The Silmi War Veterans' Association, consisting of 17 former soldiers, asked for compensation and unpaid wages. "The soldiers of the unit were victims, but we are victims, too," secretary general Lee Jun-young said. Five of the members were those that actually escaped from the island on August 23, 1971, when the unit rebelled and murdered many of their supervisors. They intended to go to Seoul and expose the purpose of the unit when the government ordered that the unit's members be secretly murdered. [Unit 684]
Silmido Training Sergeants File Petition
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter A group of cadre training members of Unit 684, better known as the ``Silmido'' unit, recently presented the government with a petition claiming indemnity for their sufferings after the tragic rebellion of their trainees in 1971 [Unit 684]
South Korea Will Participate in Examining Goguryo Relics in North Korea
[Koguryo][Joint Korean]
National Cooperation Urged
Pyongyang, March 3 (KCNA) -- National cooperation today stands out with great urgency for a progress in the movement for the independent reunification of the country, says Rodong Sinmun in a signed article today. It goes on: The United States is throwing grave barriers in the way of Korea's reunification by persistently resorting to moves to stifle the DPRK under the pretext of the nuclear issue with it and is now bringing dark clouds of a nuclear war over the Korean nation. National cooperation is the major way for building a structure of confrontation between the Korean nation and the U.S. by practical actions.
Wives enrolling at Ewha for first time since 1946
Two freshmen who will begin studying at Ewha Womans University this month are the first married students the school's undergraduate departments have accepted in 58 years. The university created a bylaw in 1946 prohibiting the attendance of wives because many quit school under pressure from their families. [human rights]
Wave of Taegukki Sweeps Nation
Events, Rallies Held to Mark 1919 March 1 Independence Movement
Massive rally opposes North
Thousands of South Korean citizens opposed to communist North Korea rallied yesterday in front of City Hall, waving the Korean and American flags to celebrate the March 1st Independence Movement Day. The largely conservative crowd, estimated at 30,000 and made up of 140 civic groups such as Christian Council of Korea and Korea Freedom League chanted, "Down with nuclear weapons, Down with Kim Jong-il" in the streets and burned North Korean flags. Called the "National rally to purge pro-North leftist power and corruption," those at the gathering declared they would oppose the election of pro-North Korea politicians in the upcoming general elections next month.
Ministry to appeal gender case in which teacher served drinks
The Ministry of Gender Equality announced yesterday that it will appeal a Seoul administrative court ruling that said an elementary school administrator had not engaged in sexual harassment when he ordered a female teacher to pour drinks for the school's principal. The administrator, a vice-principal identified only as Mr. Kim, had repeatedly demanded that the teacher serve the principal at a school faculty dinner.
Declaration on National Independence Issued
GNP Young Turks Propose Active Support for NK
By Yoon Won-sup A group of young officials at the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) on Monday adopted a progressive platform of policy alternatives on North Korea, calling for the doubling of North Korean per capita income through the expansion of economic support for the communist country. Their overtures, contained in their ``New Vision for GNP,'' mark a sharp departure from its past anti-North Korean approach. Reps. Park Geun-hye and Lee Jae-oh, who fought with these junior lawmakers against Choe's leadership, expressed their support. ``The GNP must change existing policies toward North Korea,'' said Park, who is emerging to succeed Choe with young members' support.
Two Koreas Exchange Lists of Candidates for Family Reunions
By Yoo Dong-ho Staff Reporter South and North Korea Saturday exchanged the names of 400 candidates to meet their long-lost kin for the first time since they were separated due to the Korean War, according to Korea National Red Cross.
SOUTH KOREANS RECOUNT PAST IN HIT MOVIE
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: March 1, 2004 Filed at 4:28 a.m. ET SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- They were once-taboo scenes: high school students pressed into military service, North Korean prisoners burned alive by South Korean troops, right-wing paramilitaries massacring supposed communist collaborators. South Korea's latest hit movie recounts the violence between neighbors during the inter-Korean conflict with such realism that many viewers leave in tears. Over a sixth of the entire population of 47 million have seen ``Taegukgi'' since it opened four weeks ago, putting it on track to become the nation's highest grossing film. The film hits a raw nerve in a country still struggling to come to terms with the atrocities before, during and after the 1950-53 war that permanently divided their peninsula. Keeping pace with the soul-searching, the National Assembly is debating a controversial new bill that requires the government to investigate the Korean War's civilian massacres and exonerate their victims.
Must the Korean Army remain the breeding ground of Extreme Rightists?
Lee Wha Rang Loosely based on the article by: ROKA (Republic of Korea Army) Brigadier (ret) Pyo Myung-yul Our military commanders have become the messenger boys of the US military, and they are more interested in promoting the US interests than the interests of the Korean people. They cite 'blood brotherhood' with the Americans and vie with each other to prove to their American masters that they are more American than the Americans themselves. These shameless Korean Uncle Toms show little sign of Korean nationalism or patriotism. Deep in their hearts, they would rather be Japanese or Americans than Koreans.
Any reform of the army culture must be initiated by the officer corps, and the military academies shape the mindset of the officers. In Spain, the democracy activists after the Franco dictatorship began democratization by reforming its cadet schools. It had to break the chain that linked the military to the political and economic power elite.
Overview of Intra-Korean Exchanges & Cooperation for January 2004

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