ROK and Inter-Korean relations
July 2004
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North Korea lashes Seoul over defectors
In its first official response to the arrival in
South Korea this week of 468 defectors from the
North, Pyeongyang accused officials in Seoul
yesterday of a "systematic and planned
kidnapping and terrorist crime committed in
broad daylight."
The statement by the North Korean Committee for
Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland was
carried by the state-run Korea Central News
Agency. North Korea termed the event "the
greatest act of hostility intended to crumble
the North Korean political system."
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2nd World Conference on Koreanology to Be Held
Pyongyang, July 28 (KCNA) -- The 2nd world
conference on Koreanology is slated to take
place here from August 4 to 5, Juche 93 (2004).
The conference will bring together scholars of
the DPRK, overseas Korean scholars and scholars
of different countries who specialize in Korean
studies. It will deal with achievements made in
academic studies in various fields including
philosophy, economic laws, language and history
under the subject of "Koreanology in the era of
reconciliation and cooperation."
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Roh Protects Ruling on Pro-NK Activities
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
Giving his approval to a recent ruling by a
presidential fact-finding body in favor of pro-
North Korean activities of the past, President
Roh Moo-hyun on Friday accused opposition
parties of using criticism of the commission in
an attempt to attack him.
``I think opposition forces have criticized the
Presidential Truth Commission on Suspicious
Deaths in order to strike at me,'' Roh said
while meeting with a group of commission members
whose term expired on June 30.
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S-N Ministerial Talks Likely to Be Put Off
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
The upcoming inter-Korean ministerial meeting is
showing signs of bogging down as North Korea on
Thursday did not respond to the South's repeated
calls for a meeting of working-level officials
to discuss the Aug. 3-6 meeting.
Further darkening the outlook, the North
strongly criticized the South in connection with
the recent influx of North Korean defectors to
its capitalist neighbor.
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NK Refugees Abandon Asylum Bids to South
Remain in China to Care for Families in North
Korea
By Jung Sung-ki
An increasing number of North Korean defectors
in China are abandoning their bids to seek
asylum in South Korea due chiefly to fears of
being repatriated to the North. Instead, they
mainly settle there to support their families in
the famine-stricken North Korea.
In a recent interview published in a monthly
booklet released by the Association of the
Defectors of North Korea in Seoul, a North
Korean defector who came to Seoul in 2002
elaborated on the reality of life for North
Korean defectors in China.
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Suspect in Kaesong Handed Over to South
By Lee Jin-woo
A South Korean worker, who allegedly used
violence against a colleague Monday night at the
construction site of the Kaesong industrial
complex in North Korea, was handed over to South
Korean police on Wednesday.
After taking the suspect into custody, police in
the border town of Paju requested an arrest
warrant.
The suspect, identified as Choi, 22, was not
questioned by North Korean authorities, although
an inter-Korean agreement on the safety of South
Koreans in Kaesong and Mt. Kumgang has yet to
take effect.
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Defense chief resigns; naval dispute goes on
Wasting no time, the Blue House announced
yesterday that it would name today a successor
to Cho Young-kil, the defense minister who is
resigning over a controversial inter-Korean
naval shooting incident that took place earlier
this month.
Meanwhile, concerns are growing that the North
has politicized the emergency radio hot line
established to avert clashes between the two
navies ? and is stimulating more maritime border
violations.
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Life usually not rosy for defectors
Second of a series
Many North Korean defectors come here seeking
better lives for themselves and their families,
but even for those who succeed in adjusting, it
is not easy for them to adapt to society here,
and some never succeed.
The defectors themselves say that their own
passivity, incompetence and lack of patience are
also part of the reason for the inability to
adjust.
Here are some examples of success and failure
from among defectors who have settled here.
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Naval incident leads general to step down
Against the backdrop of border violations in the
Yellow Sea by possibly more North Korean
vessels, South Korea's top military intelligence
official stepped down yesterday over his leak of
information about a similar intrusion earlier
this month.
Lieutenant General Park Seung-chun, chief
intelligence director of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, expressed his intention to retire
yesterday following a Ministry of National
Defense investigation that identified him as the
source of a leak that made public a
communication log between the two Koreas during
a naval encounter on July 14.
Brigadier General Nam Dae-yeon, a spokesman at
the Ministry of National Defense, said, "Mr.
Park realized his accountability for bringing
troubles to the president and the nation's
military and will voluntarily leave military
service."
Meanwhile, the Joint Chiefs of Staff reported
another maritime border intrusion yesterday.
According to the military, two small fishing
boats crossed the sea demarcation around 8:30
a.m. yesterday, and retreated after 17 minutes.
"Because of low visibility and weather
conditions, the Navy was unable to identify
whether the boats were from North Korea or
China," a spokesman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
said. "We broadcast three warnings over a radio
channel to inform the North about the intrusion,
but no reply has been received."
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230 NK Defectors Arrive in Seoul
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
About 230 North Korean defectors on Tuesday
arrived here from a Southeast Asian country in
the largest-ever single group of defectors to
reach South Korea.
A chartered Asiana Airlines flight carrying
North Koreans fleeing their communist homeland
landed at a military airport, just south of
Seoul, around 9 a.m. amid tight security.
government will soon come up with comprehensive measures to deal with a mass
influx of North Korean defectors coming to South Korea. ``We need to review and
upgrade the overall defectors-handling policy,'' he said, adding, ``I expect
the number of North Korean defectors in South Korea will exceed 10,000 in just
a few years.'' Currently, North Korean defectors here number more than 5,000.
Hanawon, the state-run re-education center for the North's defectors, can
accommodate 400 defectors at a time and currently only about an additional 100
can be allowed in. The government is seeking ways to send the rest of the North
Koreans to local government bodies.
Official figures show that 1,285 North Koreans defected to South Korea in 2003,
up from 1,140 in 2002 and 583 in 2001. In the first six months of the year, 760
North Koreans were allowed to come to South Korea, mostly via China.
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Defense Minister Offers to Resign Over Navy Scandal
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
Defense Minister Cho Young-kil expressed his readiness to step down on Tuesday,
taking responsibility for the latest military scandal regarding a misleading
report on the July 14 inter-Korean naval incident.
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Assembly Speaker Seeks Inter-Korean Parliamentary Meeting
By Jung Sung-ki
National Assembly Speaker Kim One-ki proposed an active role for the South
Korean Assembly on Tuesday in the improvement of inter-Korean relations as well
as in achieving a peaceful resolution to the North Korean nuclear problem.
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New caste seen in North's defectors
First of a series
As Seoul prepares to welcome about 460 North
Korean defectors, experts on the refugees say
the profile of those fleeing the North has
changed, as has the North's policy towards
defectors who are caught. The imminent entry of
hundreds today and tomorrow also illustrates the
size of the ever-growing exodus to South Korea.
Recent trends show that defectors are
meticulously planning their escapes, bringing
full families with them. Previously, most
defectors had been individuals. In 2001, among
583 North Korean defectors who came South 254
were single defectors; in 2002, out of the 1,140
defectors, 694 were single. Nowadays, defectors
who have managed to reach and settle in South
Korea make efforts to bring their families who
may be in the North, in China or in Southeast
Asia.
Also, as economic hardships increased in the
North, the authorities' internal control
weakened somewhat, leading to easier escapes to
China. In the late 1990s, most defectors were
fleeing natural disasters and food shortages;
once they found food and earned money in China,
they often returned home.
Nowadays, however, defectors leaving the North
are seeking a better life. According to the
Korea Institute for National Unification, the
recent influx does not consist of the poor, but
those from better-off groups. There has also
been a dramatic increase in the number of women
and children reaching the South in recent years.
North Korea's policy towards defectors has
changed somewhat, and the degree of punishment
for defectors differs according to their length
of absence and motive.
Up until the mid-1990s, defectors who were
caught were sent to political camps and their
families were forced to migrate to remote areas.
The authorities have eased sanctions in recent
years: Those who spent terms in China only have
to do forced labor for two to three months. It
is only defectors who contact South Koreans, or
enter South Korean churches in China, who are
harshly punished.
by Jung Chang-hyun
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Why did Cho bring up intentional cover-up?
With the government struggling to patch up the dispute over military misreporting of a North Korean intrusion into southern waters, attention is focused on why Defense Minister Cho Yung-kil rekindled the controversy just as it was dying down.
Reversing what the Defense Ministry had said at a news conference the previous day, Cho said Saturday the military "intentionally covered up" the fact that it received messages from the North before firing warning shots toward a North Korean ship.
The controversy had appeared set to end last week as the ministry announced the reporting failure was due to the negligence of some officials and President Roh Moo-hyun decided to punish those responsible only with "warnings" in order not to weaken military morale.
With speculation rife as to why Cho reopened a case that at one time looked likely to cost him his job, most observers believe the defense minister decided to send strong warnings to staff known to be highly uncooperative to people who have different backgrounds.
Most military officials are from the premier Korea Military, Navy and Air Force Academies, the three most elite avenues to the nation's top defense policymakers. Cho graduated from the less prestigious military school of the Army College of Republic of Korea and as a result has received lukewarm support from within the military.
By attacking with unusually harsh words what he labeled as slack discipline, Cho might have been attempting to express his discontent with the military over the past year, as well as warning his staff to stiffen their discipline.
Many ruling party lawmakers believe the military, after a half century of confrontation with its counterpart in the North, is skeptical toward the government's efforts to increase peace and cooperation with the communist neighbor.
But having praised the military for its successful operations and criticized the government for weakening military moral, the main opposition Grand National Party reversed itself to demand that the responsible military officers face stronger censure.
"It must be made clear why the officials intentionally covered up (the messages from North Korea," GNP's chief policymaker Lee Hahn-koo said.
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Aide rekindles naval clash ire
At a National Defense Committee hearing on
Saturday Korea's defense minister, Cho Young-
gil, has told the National Assembly that the
Korean Navy purposely omitted in its reports on
a recent incident in the Yellow Sea that the
North Korean Navy had responded to radio calls
from the South. A North Korean vessel sailed
across the sea boundary on July 14; a Seoul ship
fired warning shots during the incursion.
It was unclear just why the defense minister was
making public a part of the investigation into
the incident that had not been made public
earlier. The naval commander, Vice Admiral Kim
Seong-man, told investigators earlier that he
had not forwarded information on the radio
contact to his superiors because he feared that
he would not be allowed to fire warning shots to
drive the vessel away. He also reportedly told
investigators that he also believed the North
could use the incident for political purposes.
Apparently in a bid to mend the widening rift
between the military and the country's political
leadership, the Blue House issued relatively
light reprimands despite the admiral's decision
to withhold the information. Earlier, after
military complaints that they were being made a
scapegoat in the incident, a lawmaker of the
governing Uri Party suggested that the military
leadership was mostly beholden to past military
governments for their current leadership jobs.
The defense minister's comments threw fuel on
that fire.
A Blue House spokesman said yesterday the matter
was closed. He added that President Roh was well
aware of the reasons for the communications
breakdown.
"We think that by focusing too much on the
statement by the commanding officer some
misunderstanding has occurred," a Blue House
official said, speaking of the defense
minister's remarks. A spokesman said the Uri
Party was not happy, but respected the
president's decision.
[Role of ROK military]
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No travel ban for man during treason appeal
The prosecution said yesterday it would not try
to bar Song Du-yul, a Korean-German sociologist,
from traveling abroad while it asks the Supreme
Court to review his case.
Mr. Song received a suspended sentence on
relatively minor charges after an appeals court
last week ruled that the prosecution had not
proven its main contention, that he was a member
of the North Korean Workers Party politburo.
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Action Taken to Disallow Pyongyang Visit of Ngo
Delegation under Fire in S. Korea
Pyongyang, July 23 (KCNA) -- The Solidarity for
Implementing the South-North Joint Declaration
reportedly held a regular meeting of its central
steering committee on July 17 at which it
released a special statement accusing the south
Korean authorities of disallowing the Pyongyang
visit by a non-governmental delegation of south
Korea to participate in functions to commemorate
the tenth anniversary of the demise of President
Kim Il Sung. The statement sternly chided the
Ministry of Unification for disallowing the
Pyongyang visit of personages of a non-
governmental organization including Presbyter
Pak Yong Gil, widow of Rev. Mun Ik Hwan, to
participate in the above-said functions. Such
action was an anachronistic anti-reunification
behavior reminiscent of the rash action taken
against those south Koreans who wished to mourn
the death of the President in 1994 and an
unethical action of ignoring even the ancestral
good manners and customs and elemental human
morality, the statement noted, and continued:
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Uri Endeavors to Soothe Military
By Jung Sung-ki
The governing Uri Party is stepping up its
efforts to alleviate the recent concerns over
the widening rift between the party and the
military over the failure to report certain
information concerning the shooting incident in
the West Sea two weeks ago. [Role of ROK military]
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Opposition Calls for Punishment of Defense
Minister
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
The Grand National Party (GNP) urged Chong Wa
Dae on Monday to punish top military brass,
including the defense minister, for the
military's misleading report and following cover-
up concerning the July 14 inter-Korean naval
incident.
The military scandal has intensified the
confrontation between the ruling and opposition
camps as the GNP, the nation's main opposition,
has been adamant on dealing with the matter
sternly.
In a sudden change of attitude, the GNP took a
tougher line on the issue, arguing Defense
Minister Cho Young-kil and senior Chong Wa Dae
officials should take responsibility. Last week,
the conservative party had been trying to
maintain good relations with the military, while
leveling criticism only at the presidential
office.
``The recent scandal is linked to the slackness
of military discipline and national identity,''
Rep. Hwang Jin-ha, a three-star retired army
general, said during his party's morning
meeting. ``President Roh Moo-hyun, who is the
nation's supreme commander, should strictly
punish those responsible.''
GNP spokeswoman Jun Yeo-ok also said that
operational commanders failing to report crucial
information due to the concern they might be
ordered not to fire warning shots at a North
Korean boat was equivalent to ``disobedience.''[Role of ROK military]
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Navy officers held back N.K. radio messages
South Korea's defense minister said the nation's navy intentionally covered up the fact that it received radio messages from the North shortly before firing warning shots toward a suspected North Korean ship.
His comments, before the National Assembly's Defense Committee Saturday, rekindled the controversy over the navy's misreporting of the July 14 firing incident on the disputed western sea border.
The ministry earlier said it didn't pass the messages from the North to officials up the chain of command, including the president, because navy officers believed they didn't merit reporting. The Navy also said it reacted properly, under the rules of engagement, to the North Korean vessel's intrusion into southern waters.
Defense Minister Cho Yung-kil said the naval fleet operations commander concealed North Korea's radio contact out of concern he might be ordered not to fire toward the North Korean vessel, and out of fear the media would question whether such action was appropriate - all of which could be used politically later by the North.
[Role of ROK military]
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Navy Covered Up Hotline Failure, Says Defense
Chief
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
South Korea's navy intentionally did not report
radio messages it had received from North Korea
before firing warning shots at the North's ship
on July 14 due to concerns it might be ordered
not to, the nation's military chief said.
Despite the fresh revelation, however, those
involved in the misreporting scandal will likely
be given mere ``verbal warnings'' as previously
instructed by President Roh Moo-hyun last week,
according to officials on Sunday.
While attending a National Assembly session on
Saturday, Defense Minister Cho Young-kil said
the omission of the crucial information in the
navy's report on the inter-Korean maritime
incident was made in an intentional cover-up
attempt, not by ``carelessness'' as earlier
concluded by a joint investigation team.
``I believed the operational commander should
have been punished sternly because I thought it
was improper for him to ignore such important
information,'' Cho told the Assembly's National
Defense Committee on Saturday. ``So I made this
recommendation to the president.''
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Song to Be Allowed to Leave Korea
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
The prosecution has tentatively decided not to
impose travel restrictions on Korean-German
professor Song Du-yul, who was released from
jail last week after a Seoul appellate court
sentenced him to a suspended term.
``We have not sought to impose a travel ban on
Song yet, and it is unlikely we will prevent him
from leaving the country,'' a prosecution
official said.
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Roh stops short of punishing military
President Roh Moo-hyun yesterday stopped short of reprimanding military officials for failing to report immediately to their superiors North Korea's recent intrusion into South Korean waters, only warning them instead not to repeat such mistakes.
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Saluting the military
In the aftermath of a dispute over a naval
incident with North Korea last week,
conservative citizens' groups held a rally in
Gwanghwamun, Seoul, yesterday to voice support
for the military and to denounce the Roh
administration for being critical of the
military. "We trust our military," the blue
banners read.
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Light punishments only in naval reporting
failure
President Roh Moo-hyun ordered the military
yesterday to issue warnings to five officials
who failed to report to higher levels of the
command hierarchy ? including the Blue House ?
that North and South Korean vessels had
exchanged communications on July 14.
Kim Jong-min, the Blue House spokesman, said,
"We have no personnel changes to announce today
regarding the July 14 incident."
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North novel, South prize
A North Korean novelist, Hong Seok-jung, 63, has
become the first writer from his country to win
the Manhae Prize for Literature, a South Korean
writing award.
Changbi Publishers, Inc. said Wednesday that it
had selected Mr. Hong as the winner of the 19th
Manhae Prize for Literature for his historical
novel "Hwang Jin Yi." The story is about the
life of the eponymous female entertainer in
Korea's Joseon Dynasty.
The novel went on sale in South Korea in
February after Daehoonbooks, Co. struck a deal
with its North Korean publisher. Unusual for
North Korean novels, it contains what reviews
call graphic sexual portrayals. "Literarily, the
work is praiseworthy enough, especially for its
elaborate description of personalities. There is
no ideological problem, either," said the prize
judging committee.
The prize money of 10 million won ($8,573) will
be presented at a ceremony scheduled here on
November 24. It is not yet known whether the
North Korean government will allow the winner to
attend.
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Truth commission jurisdiction
The government and Uri Party agreed to change
the affiliation of the Truth Commission on
Suspicious Deaths from directly under the
president to under the National Assembly. They
also agreed to put together 13 draft bills
requiring the truth of the past and restoration
of honor.
The first and second commissions acted against
the people's sentiment in the absence of
supervision of other agencies, because it was
under the president directly. It earned people's
wrath by recommending former North Korean spies
and partisans, who died in prison resisting
conversion, as contributors to Korea's
democratization. And they exercised exclusive
power by employing former North Korean spies and
members of anti-state organizations as
investigators and letting them probe military
commanders and former defense ministers under
the excuse of investigating suspicious deaths at
military units.
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Deal is made for defectors to come here
Government sources confirmed published reports
yesterday that 400 North Korean defectors are
expected to come to South Korea next week from
an unidentified Southeast Asian country.
No details of how the defectors gathered in the
unnamed country were given. The group is
expected to arrive in two chartered planes, the
sources said, making this the largest number of
North Korean refugees to enter the South at one
time.
As reports of the plan surfaced in press
reports, government officials began to worry
that the news might trigger a wave of defections
from North Korea. Such a consequence could
prompt diplomatic difficulties with North Korea
and China.
According to the Unification Ministry, the total
number of North Korean defectors who have come
to South Korea rose to 5,179 as of the end of
June. In 1993, 640 defectors came to the South.
Last year, the number was 1,281.
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Subsidy reductions expected for defectors
The amount of funds allotted to help North
Korean defectors settle in South Korea is
expected to decrease signficantly. With the
revelations that hundreds of North Korean
defectors will arrive in South Korea next week,
the government held a meeting yesterday to deal
with the growing number of those fleeing the
North, and decided to cut the settlement fund of
35.9 million won ($30,770) to 20 million won.
The measure will take effect next January.
However, in cases in which a defector receives
technological training or continuously works, he
or she can receive an additonal 15.6 million won
in subsidies. An official of the unification
ministry said, "We have eliminated the special
provision to defectors whereby they receive
540,000 won per month ? much higher than the
lowest basic income of 320,000."
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Remarks of Floor Leader of GNP under Fire
Pyongyang, July 22 (KCNA) -- Kim Tok Ryong,
floor leader of the Grand National Party (GNP)
of south Korea, talked rubbish about the firing
incident caused by the south Korean navy in the
West Sea a few days ago. He contended that it
was confirmed "a patrol craft of the north side
crossed the northern limit line" and that the
north "told a lie." He cried that the government
should sternly protest the "intrusion" and get
"a promise to prevent its recurrence." Rodong
Sinmun in a signed commentary Thursday says:
It is intolerable that he dared take issue with
the north, knowing nothing about the truth of
the incident. This was an intentional
provocation against the north which was
committed undoubtedly with the encouragement of
the military which does not want detente in the
inter-Korean relations.
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Negligence Led to Hotline Failure
Two Generals and Three Officers Face
Disciplinary Action
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
The South Korean military failed to properly
report the July 14 inter-Korean naval incident
mainly due to the carelessness of the top brass
and mid-level officials, a joint investigation
concluded on Friday.
President Roh Moo-hyun, after being briefed
about the results of a weeklong investigation
into the reporting failure, instructed Defense
Minister Cho Young-kil to give ``warnings'' to
those responsible, a lesser punishment than was
than generally expected.
In a media conference at the Defense Ministry,
Maj. Gen. Park Jung-jo said the event was caused
by a mixture of the Navy's stiff alertness since
the 2002 bloody naval clash between the two
Koreas and some high-level officers' poor
understanding of the recent development in inter-
Korean relations.
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Confusing ruling on Song
The Seoul High Court reversed a lower court
decision imposing a seven-year prison term on
Song Du-yul, a Korean-German sociologist,
instead giving him a three-year suspended
sentence with five years' probation.
That decision by the appeals court prompted
controversy because it cleared Mr. Song of the
substantial charge that he was a Politburo
member of the North Korean Workers' Party, a
charge of which he was convicted in the original
trial.
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March for Korean Peace and Reunification Starts
in Pyongyang
Pyongyang, July 21 (KCNA) -- An international
march for Korean peace and reunification started
here on July 21. A ceremony for the start of the
march took place prior to it.
Alejandro Cao de Benos, head of the marchers,
declared its start. Then there began the march
amid the bugle call and the playing of the song
"We Are One."
Mun Jae Chol, acting chairman of the Korean
Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign
Countries who is chairman of the Korean
Committee for Solidarity with World People, and
others joined the marchers.
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Negligence Led to Hotline Failure
Two Generals and Three Officers Face
Disciplinary Action
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
The South Korean military failed to properly
report the July 14 inter-Korean naval incident
mainly because of the carelessness of the top
brass and mid-level officials, a joint
investigation concluded on Friday.[Role of ROK military]
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400 NK Defectors to Arrive in Seoul Next Week
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
About 400 North Korean defectors will come to
South Korea next week from a Southeast Asian
nation, the Foreign Affairs-Trade Ministry said
Friday.
``The asylum seekers will make their way to
Seoul from an Asian country next week,'' a
ministry official told reporters on condition of
anonymity. It would be the largest single group
of North Koreans to be allowed to South Korea.
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Parties Haggle Over NK Human Rights Bill
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
The opposition Grand National Party (GNP) on
Friday criticized the ruling Uri Party for its
attempts to draft a resolution, opposing a bill
recently passed by the U.S. House of
Representatives to promote human rights in North
Korea.
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Suspicious Deaths Panel Will Be Referred to
Assembly
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
The government and the ruling Uri Party on
Friday decided to refer the Presidential Truth
Commission on Suspicious Deaths to the National
Assembly, which has, in particular, been
dedicated to exploring mysterious deaths
involving pro-democracy activists over the past
four years.
``We agreed to place the presidential panel
under the parliament because we think it is
improper for the presidential office to be in
charge of it,'' the Uri Party's Rep. Ahn Young-
keun said.
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Song Du-yul's Release
Rejection of Prosecution's Key Charges Deplorable
The release of the controversial Korean-German scholar, Song Du-yul, has set
off a new round of ideological confrontations between conservatives and
progressives. It has also touched off debates over the principles of equal
application of law. In addition, it will add fuel to demands that the national
security law be scrapped or amended.
Song, a former sociology professor at Germany's Muenster University, was freed
Wednesday following the Seoul High Court's decision to sentence him to three
years in jail with the term suspended for five years. He was given a seven-year
jail term by a lower court in March.
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NK Writer Wins Manhae Prize
A North Korean novelist has been named winner of the 19th Manhae Prize for
Literature for the first time since the division of the Korean peninsula over
half a century ago.
Hong Sok-jung, 63, was chosen for his novel titled ``Hwangjini'' about a
talented ``kisaeng'' or female entertainer during the Choson period
(1392-1910), Changbi Publishers, a leading publisher in Seoul that gives the
award, said Wednesday.
The novel, published in Pyongyang in 2002, was introduced in the South last
February.
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Court says Song not Politburo member
A high court yesterday overturned an earlier
ruling that South Korean-German dissident
scholar Song Du-yul had been a Politburo member
of the ruling North Korean Workers' Party.
But it upheld a lower court's conviction of
Song, 59, for violating the National Security
Law by holding frequent unauthorized meetings
with the late North Korean leader Kim Il-sung
and engaging in other pro-Pyongyang activities.
[human rights]
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Song Du-yul is freed after court of appeals
overturns treason case
The Seoul High Court overturned yesterday the
subversion conviction of Song Du-yul, a Korean-
German sociologist tried for violations of the
National Security Law.
The appeals court cleared Mr. Song of the main
charge brought by prosecutors that he was a
Politburo member in the North Korean government.
Mr. Song, who has been in custody since October
last year, was released after the court
decision.
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New school aims at young North Koreans
The Ministry of Education has announced that it
will open an alternative school in Icheon,
Gyeonggi province for young North Korean
defectors. Defectors aged 14 to 20 are eligible
to attend the school.
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Educational Workers in North and South Meet
Mt. Kumgang Resort, July 19 (KCNA) -- A pro-
reunification meeting of educational workers in
the north and the south of Korea was held at Mt.
Kumgang resort Monday to implement the June 15
joint declaration
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Acquittal of Song Du-yul Triggers Dispute Over Anti-Communist Law
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
A high court's decision to release Song Du-yul, a Korean-German scholar accused
of violating the National Security Law, has triggered a decade-old dispute over
the necessity of the anti-communist law.
Elated by the court decision to reject the prosecution's arguments that Song
had violated the vaguely worded law, a number of Uri Party lawmakers, led by
Rep. Im Jong-seok, are speeding up the drafting of a bill to abolish it.
-
Demands for Civilian Defense Chief Grow
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
With a military shakeup expected in the wake of the scandal over the military's
misleading report of a July 14 inter-Korean naval incident, voices are rising
for the government to appoint a nonmilitary defense minister.
[Role of ROK military]
-
Roh Irate at Handling of Investigation Into
Communication Failure
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
Chong Wa Dae strongly warned the military on
Tuesday for failing to properly report last
week's shooting incident involving a North
Korean patrol boat in the West Sea, according to
Officials
[Role of ROK military]
-
Chong Wa Dae-Military Rift Widens
By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter
Controversy surrounding the Navy's failure to
report radio contacts with a North Korean boat
that intruded into South Korean waters last week
has opened a rift between President Roh Moo-hyun
and the military.
[Role of ROK military]
-
Military Hardliners Blamed for Naval Controversy
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
The political storm over a July 14 incident
involving the navies of South and North Korea is
a predictable result of the two militaries'
resistance to the recent thawing in inter-Korean
relations, government officials claimed
Wednesday.
With the controversy intensifying to reveal a
rift between Chong Wa Dae and the military, a
senior official on Wednesday argued the incident
is symptomatic of fierce resistance to North-
South cooperation by the armed forces on both
sides of the border.
``There is a lot of resistance indeed from both
sides' hardliners,'' the official said, ``even
though the two Koreas have recently embarked on
a set of measures to ease tensions across the
heavily fortified border in line with the last
month's agreement between the militaries.''
[Role of ROK military]
-
Cheong Wa Dae, military in conflict over alleged media leak
Controversy surrounding North Korea's violation last week of an inter-Korean maritime border escalated yesterday as the presidential office took issue with an alleged Defense Ministry leak of secret information on the incident to media.
News reports said Cheong Wa Dae sent a verbal warning to the ministry after the details of communications between the navies were disclosed
"This is a matter of recognizing the president's authority, so the failure to report the information to the president cannot go unpunished," said Uri Rep. Kim Hee-sun. "The party should take stern measures about the military hiding information."
Kim even mentioned the need for a far-reaching shakeup of the military, saying many senior generals were fostered under the former military dictatorships.
-
Panel to Review Case of Ex-President's Assassin
By Lee Jin-woo
A government commission on Monday began to review the case of Kim Jae-kyu, the
man who assassinated former President Park Chung-hee, to decide whether he
contributed to the democratic movement in Korea by ending Park's 18-year-long
dictatorship.
-
Roh Irate at Handling of Inquiry Into Hotline
Failure
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
Chong Wa Dae is considering taking punitive
steps against military officials found
responsible for the ``misreporting'' of last
week's shooting incident involving a North
Korean patrol boat in the West Sea, sources said
Tuesday.
The presidential office was particularly
disappointed at the military's attitude in
justifying its act by allegedly colluding with
some media despite President Roh Moo-hyun's
order on Monday to further investigate into
possible communication problems in the
military's chain of command in regards to the
naval incident. [Role of ROK military]
-
Rift Widens Between Chong
Wa Dae, Military
By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter
Controversy surrounding the Navy's failure to
report radio contacts with a North Korean boat
intruding into South Korean waters last week has
opened a rift between President Roh Moo-hyun and
the military.
Chong Wa Dae officials on Tuesday hit out at
military authorities for speaking to the media
about their handling of the sea border incursion
while the issue is still under investigation.
[Role of ROK military]
-
GNP to Take Flexible Attitude Toward NK
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
The opposition Grand National Party (GNP)'s
chairwoman Park Geun-hye said Tuesday that she
will take a more flexible attitude toward North
Korea, but underlined that she will adhere to
the two principles of democracy and market
economy in inter-Korean policies.
-
Ministers Deny Inter-Korean Summit
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young flatly
denied the possibility of an inter-Korean summit
in the near future on Tuesday, pouring cold
water on the recent speculation concerning the
matter.
Ahead of the Cabinet meeting presided over by
President Roh Moo-hyun, Chung told reporters
that he has ``no idea why some media keep
building conjectures on the matter'' and assured
that ``there is no negotiation process going
on.''
-
Roh Orders Review of Communication Failure
[Role of ROK military]
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun on Monday ordered a further investigation into possible communication problems in the military's chain of command in regards to last week's shooting incident involving a North Korean patrol boat.
``The most vital thing in the military's report to the president and the people about security is correctness,'' Roh was quoted as telling his aides. ``I think the recently completed probe is not sufficient enough.''
The military's ``false report'' on the naval incident, in the meantime, developed into a hot political issue as the ruling party openly demanded a thorough military reshuffle describing the case as ``disapproval of the president's leadership.''
Experts have pointed out that there are a number of people in the military who are not in favor of the recent developments in inter-Korean relations and the changed mood between the two Koreas.
-
Roh tells military to reinvestigate naval incident
N.K. cancels military talks with South
President Roh Moo-hyun yesterday ordered the Defense Ministry to reinvestigate a recent flap involving the North and South Korean navies.
Roh expressed his displeasure over the military's interim report for possibly misrepresenting or distorting some key details.
Roh wants another investigation to find out why navy officials may have lied about North Korea not sending any warning messages.
Lawmakers of the governing Uri Party say if a mistake was made, it could seriously affect North and South Korean efforts to avoid tension and build trust.
Uri Rep. Kim Hee-sun said at a party meeting that the government should take stern measures in connection with the incident.
Some in the party are calling for a major shakeup in military personnel, including replacement of Defense Minister Cho Yung-kil.
"This is a matter of recognizing the president's authority, so the failure to report the information to the president cannot go unpunished," Kim said.
-
Navy says actions were proper
Detailing last week's encounter with a suspected
North Korean patrol boat in the Yellow Sea near
the inter-Korean maritime border, the South
Korean Navy told the JoongAng Ilbo its
commanders had gone by the book and rejected
criticism there had been a communications lapse
-
NK Boat Briefly Crosses NLL Again
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
The fact-finding team looking into the ``false
report'' by South Korea's military over last
week's shooting incident involving a suspected
North Korean patrol boat will disclose the
interim results of its investigation on Monday,
according to officials.
In a related event, the South's Defense Ministry
said Sunday that a vessel with unidentified
nationality once again intruded into South
Korean waters on the West Sea in the morning but
retreated after receiving warnings.
-
Two Opposing Views Speak on Truth of KAL Case
By Jun Yang
The controversy over the 1987 bombing of a
Korean Air Line (KAL) plane is taking on a life
of its own with the release of two books
presenting opposing theories on the case.
On one side of the spectrum is Ahn Dong-il, ex-
lawyer for Kim Hyon-hee who was sentenced to
death by the Supreme Court in 1990 for taking
part in the bombing
However, Shin Dong-jin, secretary general of The
Families of KAL 858 Victims who published ``KAL
858, Moonujin Soosabalpyo (KAL 858, Which Went
Wrong From the Beginning)'' early this month,
didn't stop there.
``The report on the investigation from the
government on Jan. 15 in 1988 was all made up.
When we know for sure that a black stone is not
a diamond, we should try to know what it is
then. But they didn't. The report didn't give us
any of the 5 W's and 1 H,'' he said.
Shin's book is a collection of all the
suspicions that have been ever raised and
accuses Kim of being a double spy for North
Korea and the government.
-
False Military Report
Thorough Investigation Needed Into How and Why
It is appalling that the military covered up a
vital fact concerning last week's naval incident
in the West Sea. According to a Defense Ministry
spokesman, the South Korean Navy fired warning
shots at a suspected North
Korean patrol boat, ignoring three radio messages from the latter. It was an
abrupt turnabout from previous claims that the cannon shots were triggered by
the lack of a North Korean response to repeated warnings. How the military
could have made a false report on an incident that could have escalated into
further armed clashes defies understanding.
The ad hoc investigation squad needs to conduct a thorough inquiry into the
process and reasons for the cover-up. Particular emphasis should be placed on
revealing whether this accident was intentionally caused by individuals
disgruntled with the currently amicable military relationship between the two
Koreas as some suspect. The Defense Ministry should severely punish those
responsible for the incident, while examining the overall reporting system to
prevent its recurrence. The military authorities of South and North Korea also
need to check the operation of the naval hotline.
-
Overview of
Intra-Korean Exchanges & Cooperation for
May 2004
-
Navy accused of covering up radio message from
N.K.
[Role of ROK military]
The South Korean Navy received three radio
messages from the North's navy Wednesday during
a recent conflict in the West Sea, the Defense
Ministry acknowledged yesterday in a reversal of
an earlier statement.
The South Korean Navy fired warning shots at
what it thought was a North Korean patrol boat
in spite of the messages, although it is unclear
whether it did so before or after they were
received.
The incident has called the ministry's
credibility into question, as it apparently
means the messages were not communicated through
the appropriate chain of command.
"It's true that the North Korean naval vessel transmitted radio messages three
times stating a descending ship was not their ship but a Chinese fishing
boat,'" Brig. Gen. Nam Dae-yeon, a spokesman with the Defense Ministry, said in
a news conference.
The South initially claimed it fired two rounds of cannon shots into the air
Wednesday as a North Korean patrol ship, which had briefly crossed the de facto
western sea border, ignored the South's repeated warning messages to retreat.
But the ministry acknowledged that it actually received a telegram using the
international frequency from the North, which said: "The Southbound vessel is
from the Chinese, not from us (the North)."
"The Defense Ministry offers an apology to the people for this incident. As
soon as an investigation is over, we will make its results public," Nam told
reporters.
Nam said it was unclear whether the vessel at which the South Korean ship fired
warning shots was a North Korean ship or a Chinese fishing boat. He said the
ministry had yet to receive any response from China.
"The Navy fired warning shots in line with military operational standards, as
it thought it was a North Korean patrol ship," Nam said.
Nam said the ministry was investigating whether the South fired shots before it
received the North's message or after, and why the Navy operating headquarters
failed to report that to the Joint Chiefs of Staff as required.
Nam said the ministry learned of the mistake from the government spy authority
and confirmed it with the Navy.
At President Roh Moo-hyun's orders, the Defense Ministry, the National
Intelligence Service and other government agencies formed a task force to look
into the case.
Naval skirmishes in their disputed waters have caused dozens of casualties on
both sides since 1999, with the last clash in June 2002 killing six South
Korean sailors and wounding 18 others. North Korea admitted that it also
suffered casualties but did not say how many.
North Korea has never acknowledged the Northern Limit Line and has been
demanding that a new maritime border be drawn.
Earlier last month, the militaries of the rival Koreas agreed to take a set of
steps to ease tension along their poorly marked western sea border, the site of
two deadly naval gunbattles in 1999 and 2002.
The measures include use of a shared radio frequency, establishment of a
telephone hot line and exchange of information on illicit fishing by a third
country, an apparent reference to China.
The two Koreas are technically still in a state
of war as their fratricidal 1950-53 Korean War
ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
(smjoo@heraldm.com)
By Joo Sang-min
2004.07.17
-
4th Anniversary of June 15 Joint Declaration Celebrated in Korea
The 4th anniversary of the publication of the historic June 15 joint
declaration was celebrated in North and South Korea. During these four years,
the relationship between North and South Korea has developed in various fields.
This year, "the Meeting of Our Nation" was held in Inchon, South Korea, the
"international Forum" was held in Seoul, South Korea, and a "Joint Photo
Exhibition" was held in Pyongyang.
"The Year 2005, Let It Be The First Year of Reunification"
-
N-S Exchanges on Congressmen's Level Suggested
The North and the South have had talks, contacts and exchanges on government
and private levels since the North-South Pyongyang Summit in 2000. However,
there have been no contact on congressmen's level.
After the 17th general election in South Korea, reformist and progressive
forces took the lead in suggesting an exchange between North and South Korean
congressmen. Recently, other countries are also suggesting an exchange between
North and South Korean congressman.
Hartmut Koschyk, member of the Bundestag, who is chairman of the German-Korean
Friencship Parliamentary Group, visited the DPRK and the South Korea one after
another in early June. After his visit to two Koreas, he said that he suggested
both the North and the South "to have a tripartite meeting among
representatives of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, South Korean congressmen
and congressmen of the German Bundestag in Berlin, in September, next year."
-
Second N-S General-level Military Talks Held
The second round of the North-South general-level military talks was held at
Mt. Solak Resort of the South side on June 3 and 4. Present there were the
North side's delegation led by Major General of the Korean People's Army An Ik
San and the South side's delegation with Pak Jong Hwa, commodore of the Defense
Ministry as chief delegate.
At the talks, both sides discussed the issues related to the prevention of
accidental conflicts in the West Sea, the suspension of propaganda in the areas
along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and the removal the means of
propaganda which were presented in the first round of the North-South
general-level military talks and adopted an agreement.
According to the agreement, first, both sides agreed to exert joint efforts to
achieve military detente and ensure a lasting peace on the Korean peninsula.
Second, both sides agreed to take the following measures from June 15, 2004, to
prevent accidental conflicts in the West Sea: 1) To strictly prevent vessels
from standing in confrontation with each other in the West Sea. 2) To refrain
from taking any unreasonable physical actions against each other's warships and
civilian vessels in the West Sea. 3) To use 156.8,156.6MHz ultrashort mobile
radios with a view to barring their ships from standing face to face with each
other due to navigation errors, ship wreck and rescue, etc. and to preventing
mutual misunderstanding. 4) To institute and apply regulations concerning flags
and light signals as necessary supplementary means. 5) To share the view that
accidental conflicts may occur in the course of intercepting and inspecting
fishing boats of third countries illegally catching fish in the sensitive
waters of the West Sea and cooperate with each other in the efforts to seek a
diplomatic solution to this issue and exchange information about the movements
of illegal fishing boats. 6) To use telecommunication lines available in the
west coastal area for the time to exchange views on the matters raised in the
West Sea.
-
South cites contact snafu with North
Prompting questions about how good
communications are inside the South Korean
military, the Ministry of National Defense
acknowledged yesterday that North Korea had
responded to the South's calls over a naval
incident earlier this week, but word of the
contact had not been passed up the chain of
command.[Role of ROK military]
-
Missionary, 4 North Koreans arrive
Kim Hee-tae, a South Korean missionary who was
arrested by Chinese authorities two years ago
for helping North Korean defectors in China
arrived in Seoul yesterday.
Mr. Kim, 35, was allegedly helping North Korean
defectors enter foreign missions in China when
Chinese authorities arrested him in August 2002.
On July 15, the Yanbian People's Court found him
innocent of charges of "illegal trafficking" in
defectors
-
New truth commission starts
It seems that the third Presidential Truth
Commission on Suspicious Deaths will be launched
soon. The Grand National Party, which opposed
the revision of the special law that will
facilitate appointing the third commission, has
announced that it will examine the draft
revision and make it possible for the commission
to play its original role of its establishment.
-
NK Describes US, Japan as Main Enemies
By Jung Sung-ki
Amid the dispute over the term ``main enemy''
when referring to North Korea, the North has
been found to label the United States and Japan
as its main enemies, not neighboring South
Korea.
According to some North Korean defectors who
previously served in the People's Army, there
are no documents or official commentaries that
describe the South as the main enemy of the
North, though the term ``enemy'' for South
Korean and U.S. soldiers is used in unofficial
or military documents.
Instead, the North reportedly often calls the
U.S. a ``mortal enemy'' and Japan a
``longstanding enemy,'' a source from the
Defense Ministry said.
-
Bitter Days for Park Geun-hye
By Shim Jae-yun
Staff Reporter
Park Geun-hye, former chairwoman of the Grand
National Party (GNP), has surfaced as a major
newsmaker amid various political disputes.
The eldest daughter of the former President Park
Chung-hee has recently been maintaining a
relatively low profile with little media
exposure since she led the main opposition party
in the general elections in April.
Park's troubles grew when the Uri Party resumed
efforts to expand the scope of the investigation
into pro-Japanese activities, mainly targeting
her late father who served as a Japanese army
officer during Japan's colonial rule in Korea.
-
Military to Be Probed for Coverup of NK Radio Messages
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
South Korea's navy fired warning shots at a suspected North Korean patrol boat on Wednesday, even though it received the North's radio messages that it was chasing a Chinese fishing boat, according to the Defense Ministry on Friday.
The ministry had initially claimed a South Korean navy ship fired two warning shots to repel a North Korean patrol boat as it had violated the western sea border after ignoring the South's repeated warning messages.
``It is not true that North Korea didn't respond to our calls,'' Brig. Gen. Nam Dae-youn, ministry spokesman, told a press briefing. ``We found that the North's navy had sent radio messages three times stating `the approaching ship is not our ship but a Chinese fishing boat.''
Nam explained the military authorities first learned about the mistake after receiving a complaint from Pyongyang, Thursday evening.
President Roh Moo-hyun instructed Defense Minister Cho Young-kil to conduct a thorough investigation to get to the bottom of the case.
In the military, experts said, there are a number of people who are not in favor of the recent development in inter-Korean relations and the changed mood between the two Koreas.
Last month, the militaries of the rival Koreas agreed in rare general-grade
Sources at Chong Wa Dae said a massive reshuffle of the military seems unavoidable given the presidential office's accumulated dissatisfaction over scandalous events involving military officials.
[Role of ROK military]
-
North vessel intrudes and is chased
A North Korean patrol boat crossed the inter-
Korean maritime border yesterday off the west
coast, retreating only after South Korean naval
units fired warning shots, South Korea's
military headquarters said yesterday.
The incident was the first North Korean
violation of the Northern Limit Line, the de
facto maritime border between the two Koreas,
since the countries established a hot line to
prevent skirmishes in the Yellow Sea. The radio
communication channel was set up on June 15 in a
measure intended to reduce tension.
-
Uri to Exclude NK From Anti-State List
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
The ruling Uri Party is seeking to revise the
National Security Law to exclude North Korea
from the list of anti-state organizations, a
move which is expected to create a stir in the
entire political sphere.
-
ROK Navy Fires Warning Shots at NK Patrol Boat
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
A North Korean patrol boat briefly crossed the
western sea border on Wednesday afternoon but
retreated minutes later after receiving warning
shots from the South Korean Navy, the Joint
Chiefs of Staff said.
-
MBC Program Creates Stir Over Song
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
These images are combined from an MBC program
about Korean-German professor Song Du-yul that
aired on Tuesday. From left are Hwang Jang-yup,
the highest-ranking North Korean official to
defect to the South; the late Workers' Party
Secretary Kim Yong-soon; and Song.
Song Du-yul, a Korean-German professor accused
of violating the anti-communist law in March, is
again facing media attention after a national
television network aired a controversial program
about his trial here on Tuesday night.
In the 60-minute program, the Munhwa
Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), a semi-state-
owned public broadcaster, scanned his turbulent
life in South Korea from his entrance last year
after 37 years in exile in Germany due to his
alleged pro-North Korean activities, to his
court battle now.
After the broadcasting, conservative dailies
were up in arms, criticizing MBC for depicting
him as a scapegoat of the anti-communist
National Security Law, at the center of a
political debate amid warming relationships with
North Korea.
[Human rights]
-
Conservatives Stick to NK as Main Enemy
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
Conservative forces, represented by the
opposition Grand National Party (GNP) and some
major local dailies, claimed it was absurd to
scrap the term ``main enemy'' when referring to
North Korea, in defiance of the government's
recent move to that end.
-
Chong Wa Dae Under Fire for Posting Indecent
Photo of GNP Leader
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
The major opposition Grand National Party (GNP)
on Wednesday strongly criticized Chong Wa Dae
for posting an parody photo featuring party
leader Park Geun-hye lying partially naked in
bed with a man on its official Web site.
-
Incredible Denunciation
Do Human Rights Exist in North Korea?
It is commonly known that North Korea is one of
the worst violators of human rights in the
world, ruthlessly suppressing any dissident
voices.
Anybody will certainly laugh at the North if the
world's most rigid Stalinist regime denounces
the South for infringing on human rights. But
such an incredible denunciation was launched by
a North Korean association for research on human
rights Saturday.
It is commonly known that North Korea is one of
the worst violators of human rights in the
world, ruthlessly suppressing any dissident
voices.
Anybody will certainly laugh at the North if the
world's most rigid Stalinist regime denounces
the South for infringing on human rights. But
such an incredible denunciation was launched by
a North Korean association for research on human
rights Saturday.
The spokesman of the dubious Northern body
severely railed at the main opposition Grand
National Party and some conservatives for
stifling a move to honor two North Korean spies
who had died in prison refusing to change sides.
The Presidential Truth Commission on Suspicious
Deaths triggered the controversy as it requested
that they be recognized as fighters for
democratization because they struggled to
abolish undemocratic laws until their deaths.
-
`Kim Jong-il's Visit Not Propaganda'
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said on Monday North Korean
leader Kim Jong-il's possible reciprocal visit to Seoul will not be used for
political ends.
On the first day of a parliamentary interpellation session on foreign,
unification and security affairs, Chung denied reports that the
government is seeking an inter-Korean summit in the near future. ``There
is no tangible progress in the much-rumored inter-Korean summit.''
``We can pursue a summit if either the North Korean nuclear issue is
resolved to some extent or we see the possibility of the summit helping
make meaningful and important progress on the nuclear issue,'' said the
52-year-old top official in charge of inter-Korean affairs.
The former ruling Uri Party chairman, however, said, ``I don't agree with
the notion that Kim's return visit will cause further confusion in the
nation.''
-
KAL Bombing Constant Source of Dispute
[Terrorism]
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
The ruling party's plan to launch a new investigation into the 1987
bombing of a Korean Air (KAL) passenger plane is facing strong
resistance from the nation's conservative circle, including the opposition
Grand National Party (GNP) and the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
The Boeing 747 from Abu Dhabi to Seoul via Bangkok exploded over the
Indian Ocean when a bomb on board was detonated, killing 115
passengers, including 20 crew members.
The NIS concluded that two North Korean agents, including Kim Hyon-
hee, blew up the plane under a direct order from North Korean leader Kim
Jong-il to thwart the opening of the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988.
The female spy was brought to Seoul on Dec. 15, a day before the
presidential election, in which Roh Tae-woo, then the ruling party's
candidate, was elected.
There has been a suspicion that some spy agents loyal to Roh and his
predecessor Chun Doo-hwan had plotted the bombing to bounce back
the popularity of the then ruling camp in the lead up to the 1987
presidential election.
It was common for the past regimes in the South to use the North's
potential military threat as a bait for the public to vote for the ruling party
candidates, who argued they had strong and stable power to protect the
country.
The Supreme Court sentenced Kim Hyon-hee to death in March 1990.
But Roh, the then head of state, gave her a special pardon the next
month. In December 1997 she married a secret agent who had guarded
her.
Many domestic media, including The Korea Times, had tried to contact
her for an interview, but she declined.
Her testimony is considered a key to solving the current controversy
over the truth of the KAL accident because there has been a strong
argument that Kim was not a North Korean spy at all.
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