ROK and Inter-Korean relations
August 2004
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Family appeals for help in alleged North seizure
In an emotional appeal, the family of a North
Korean defector suspected of having been
kidnapped and taken back to her communist
homelan asked the international community
yesterday for help in winning the woman's
release.
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Uri Presses Security Law Abolition
By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter
Lawmakers of the ruling Uri Party said Friday a
court decision upholding the constitutionality
of the National Security Law will not stop their
drive to abolish the controversial anti-
communist legislation.
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Top court says security law is still necessary
Amid heated public debate over efforts to
abolish the National Security Law, the
Constitutional Court ruled yesterday that a
controversial portion of the law should be
retained, citing Korea's security situation as
the justification for its continued existence.
The court's nine-judge panel agreed unanimously
that Article 7 of the anti-communist law is
constitutional.
An individual had filed a constitutional
petition against Clauses 1 and 5 of Article 7,
that allow punishment for those who praise or
encourage the activities of anti-state
organizations, and for those who produce or
acquire anti-state materials. The petitioner had
said the clauses infringed upon fundamental
human rights [National Security Law] [Human rights]
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Activist says North seized defector on honeymoon
A North Korean defector on her honeymoon in
China has been kidnapped and returned to her
former homeland, a human rights activist group
in Seoul has claimed.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry said yesterday it
has asked Chinese authorities to investigate the
report.
Jin Myong-suk, 24-year-old woman, whose last
name is Jin, and her husband were attacked on
Aug. 8 near China's border with North Korea by a
group of men speaking Northern dialects, said
Doh Hee-yoon, secretary-general of the civic
group, Coalition for Human Rights of Abductees
and North Korean Refugees.
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Premier Plays Down Summit Story
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
South Korea will seek another inter-Korean
summit if such an event would help in finding a
breakthrough in the crisis involving North
Korea's nuclear weapons program, Prime Minister
Lee Hae-chan said in a recent interview with a
Japanese newspaper.
``I think it is important to find a peaceful
resolution to Pyongyang's nuclear issue,'' Lee
told Nihon Keizai Shimbun. ``If another Inter-
Korean summit is held, it should serve as a step
toward resolving the North's nuclear problem.''
The premier, who accompanied former President
Kim Dae-jung to the first-ever summit in
Pyongyang in June 2000, also expressed
expectations for a second inter-Korean summit.
``I will work for President Roh Moo-hyun in
order to help improve relations with Pyongyang
through a summit.''
However, Lee avoided specifying when a summit
would be held.
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Ruling Camp Focuses on Reconciliation
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
With the National Assembly largely swayed by
progressive figures for the first time in
history, the liberal Uri Party has been focusing
on clearing the dark legacy of the nation's
modern history.
Amid the intensifying war over the past pro-
Japanese activities and irregularities allegedly
committed by past dictatorial governments,
ruling and opposition parties are seriously
eroding national unity and risking a further
plunge in the sagging economy.
The controversy picked up further steam when
President Roh Moo-hyun said his government would
shed light on leftist freedom fighters whose
activities have been undisclosed due to the
intense ideological confrontation with the
communist government in the past decades.
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Anti-Spy Agency to Reinvestigate Suspicious Cases
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
The country's anti-spy agency is ready to reinvestigate 13 suspicious incidents
that were allegedly covered up by past authoritarian governments, including the
1987 bombing of a passenger plane, sources in the parliament's Intelligence
Committee said Thursday.
National Intelligence Service (NIS) officials outlined a plan to begin the
fact-finding project during an Intelligence Committee meeting at the National
Assembly.
[Terrorism]
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Roh to Shed Light on History of Leftists
By Shim Jae-yun
Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun on Wednesday said his
administration would tackle the history of
leftist freedom fighters whose activities
against Japanese colonialism have remained
undisclosed due to fierce confrontations with
communist North Korea in the past decades.
``Regardless of the ideological differences
harbored by our ancestor's independence
activists, we need to accurately shed light on
the nation's modern history,'' presidential
spokesman Kim Jong-min quoted Roh as saying.
``In the tragic rivalry between the rightists
and leftists, one side of the history of freedom
fighters under Japanese colonial rule has
largely been buried,'' Roh said during a
luncheon meeting with a group of people who
fought against the 1910-1945 Japanese rule.
Roh's statement is expected to create yet
another stir as it comes amid brewing
controversy over the alleged pro-Japanese
activities by fathers of some leading lawmakers
of the governing party, including former
chairman Shin Ki-nam, who recently stepped down
taking responsibility for his father's past
deeds. Rep. Lee Mi-kyung, one of the party's
supreme council members, also admitted Tuesday
that her father was also a military police
officer for the Japanese.
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Pro-Japan Version of McCarthyism Engulfs Uri
Party
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
The ruling Uri Party is facing an escalating
identity dispute after its senior lawmaker Lee
Mi-kyung on Tuesday acknowledged her father's
pro-Japanese activities in the 1910-45 Japanese
colonial rule.
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Lawmakers upset over Goguryeo resolution
National Assembly lawmakers took issue yesterday
with an announcement that their government and
China had resolved a nagging historical conflict
over competing claims to the ancient kingdom of
Goguryeo.
After a briefing by the South Korean Foreign
Ministry on the informal agreement reached
Monday by vice foreign ministers from Seoul and
Beijing, both ruling and opposition lawmakers of
the National Assembly's foreign affairs
committee called the settlement of the dispute
unsatisfactory
[Koguryo]
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N. Korea Wants Illuminated Church Crosses Removed
By REUTERS
Published: August 23, 2004
Filed at 7:22 a.m. ET
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea wants the removal of tall illuminated church
crosses that light up the South Korean sky and are visible across the border in
the secretive communist state, defense officials from the South said on Monday.
The North would in turn think about ways to erase huge political carvings on
rocky cliffs facing the South that glorify its socialist system and leaders
both alive and dead.
That is the trade-off agreed to in principle by military officials of South and
North Korea as part of attempts to reduce tensions along the world's most
heavily fortified border.
The agreement was reached in June in talks between the rival states, which have
since broken down and remain on hold.
``Religious signs, we agreed they would be gone, too,'' said a Defense Ministry
official. The two sides had also agreed to remove political signposts and loud
speakers that blast propaganda along the border from both sides.
[Religion]
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All-People Signature Campaign to Defend Food
Sovereignty Starts in S. Korea
Pyongyang, August 22 (KCNA) -- The Headquarters
of the All-People Movement for Defending Food
Sovereignty to Protect Korean Rice which groups
68 civic and public organizations in south Korea
including the south Korean Federation of
Peasants Associations reportedly held a press
conference in Myongdong, Seoul, on August 18 at
which the start of the all-people signature
campaign was proclaimed. A press release said
that a recent secret document of the U.S.
Defense Department disclosed the U.S. ambition
to dominate the world by use of food.
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Truth behind "Issue of North Korean Defectors"
Exposed
Pyongyang, August 21 (KCNA) -- The south Korean
authorities have taken 468 DPRK citizens to
south Korea on July 27 and 28 terming them
"defectors from the north", a very serious case
unprecedented in the history of inter-Korean
relations. This thrice-cursed crime is a wanton
violation of the basic spirit of the June 15
North-South Joint Declaration in which the north
and the south committed themselves to get
reconciled and cooperate with each other and
solve bilateral issues by the concerted efforts
of the nation, a blatant challenge and an
unpardonable hostile act intended to bring down
the political system in the DPRK.
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Opposition lawmaker calls for greater Seoul role in N.K. issue
Grand National Party Rep. Park Jin, a foreign affairs expert, said South Korea needs to play a greater role in solving North Korea's nuclear weapons issue with active persuasion and negotiations involving the United States.
Park criticized President Roh Moo-hyun government for neglecting important international and economic concerns and instead creating domestic dispute over history.
"A great leader should know how to craft 'sales diplomacy' with a master plan containing a pragmatic strategy for the Korean Peninsula," Park said in an interview with The Korea Herald.
A former presidential secretary for foreign affairs to ex-President Kim Young-sam and a one-time professor in international relations who studied in Britain, Park is one of the few people in the domestic-oriented National Assembly here who is fluent in English.
The second-term-lawmaker was recently appointed chairman of the GNP's International Relations Committee when it was given an expanded role in the party's activities. He is also a member of parliament's National Defense Committee and visited Iraq as a parliamentary delegate to look into the kidnap-murder of Kim Sun-il in June.
"The North Korean problem is an international issue. South Korea's diplomacy is being put to the test," Park said.
He explained that no matter how the United States changes its approach towards the North after the November presidential election and regardless of who wins, the North will maintain its nuclear weapons program as a bargaining chip and to fulfill its goal to become a nuclear power.
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Defector group's offices broken into a 2nd time
The office of Durihana Mission, a South Korean
missionary group that aids North Korean
defectors from an office in Seoul's Gangnam
district, has been broken into twice in less
than a week.
The missionary group is currently leading a
project with civic and religious groups,
including churches, to build a village in the
capital region for North Korean defectors.
Since the incidents did not involve any large
sums, the police said they see the incidents as
the acts of a person or persons unhappy with
Durihana's plan to build the village for
defectors.
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New Uri leader harshly attacks Park Chung Hee
On his first full day on the job, the new
chairman of the governing Uri Party, Lee Bu-
young, attacked the late president Park Chung
Hee yesterday, calling him an opportunist who
once supported Japan but afterwards turned and
took up the cause of communism.
Referring to Mr. Park as "a man versed in
betrayal and transformation," Mr. Lee offered
his denunciation of the one-time Korean dictator
at his first official press conference as the
new Uri party leader. On Thursday, he succeeded
Shin Ki-nam who was forced to leave the post
because his father had been exposed as a
collaborator with Japan during the colonial
period.
Mr. Park "graduated from the Japanese Military
Academy, became an elite officer who was
promoted to first lieutenant," Mr. Lee said.
"After liberation, he joined the Korean
liberation fighters when he returned to South
Korea, after which he became a leading recruiter
of Communists in the South Korean Army."
The conservatives in the opposition Grand
National Party, which is led by Mr. Park's
daughter, Park Geun-hye, reacted sharply.
In 1944, Mr. Park was graduated from the
Japanese Military Academy and became a second
lieutenant in the Japanese Army. He was promoted
to first lieutenant when Japan was defeated in
1945 in World War II. He was disarmed by the
Chinese military, and joined one of the
liberation fighter units to return to South
Korea in May 1946.
In September of the same year, he joined the
South Korean military academy and became a
second lieutenant in the South Korean Army. In
1948, he was serving in the 8th regiment in
Chuncheon, Gangwon province when he was arrested
for pro-Communist activities. He escaped
punishment by disclosing the entire Communist
cell in the Army.
[Park Chung-hee]
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North criticizes unification head
North Korea lashed out yesterday at Seoul's
unification minister, Chung Dong-young, holding
him responsible for the slow pace of inter-
Korean exchanges. Mr. Chung was named to his
post on June 30.
At a press conference Sunday, Mr. Chung said he
regretted the stall in dialogue between the two
Koreas. He said North Korea had misunderstood
the South's motives in accepting defectors and
barring a delegation here from commemorating the
death anniversary of North Korea's former
leader, Kim Il Sung.
Radio Pyeongyang yesterday took Mr. Chung to
task for those comments. "South-North relations,
which had been smooth since the inter-Korean
declaration of June 15, 2000, have been facing
unprecedented challenges after Chung Dong-young
assumed the unification post," the commentary
said.
"The one who is responsible for spoiling the
relations is not apologizing, but rather
criticizing us," the commentary concluded.
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Rash Remarks of S. Korean "Minister of
Unification" Flailed
Pyongyang, August 20 (KCNA) -- Jong Tong Yong in
his first appearance before reporters a few days
ago after he took office as "minister of
Unification" let loose imprudent and
disappointing remarks revealing his provocative
stand toward the north and wrong mode of
thinking reversing white and black. This comes
under fire in papers here Friday. Drawing
attention to the fact that the inter-Korean
relations, which had been taking a favorable
course after the publication of the June 15
joint declaration, are facing an unprecedented
challenge with his taking the post of "minister
of Unification," a Rodong Sinmun analyst says:
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North tells defectors they can come home
North Korea has issued an appeal to its citizens
who have defected to South Korea to return home,
promising there would be no reprisals if they
choose to come back.
The Central Committee of the Democratic Front
for the Reunification of the Fatherland, North
Korea's organ handling South Korea affairs,
released the appeal through Radio Pyeongyang
over the last two days. The state-controlled
broadcast is for listeners outside the North.
Seoul officials said they could not recall the
North previously ever making such an appeal.
The message, titled "a letter to brothers
kidnapped to South Korea" was aired Wednesday
and yesterday. The North encouraged all and any
defectors to return home.
"You can return in a group or individually to
your republic," the broadcast said. "We will
receive you with a warm welcome."
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Second thoughts plague a North Korean defector
Jang Bok-sun, 58, is a North Korean defector who
has a special expectation of South Korea. Ms.
Jang's expectation is linked to her late
husband, who was a South Korean fisherman
kidnapped to the North in the 1960s.
"I am a North Korean defector, who arrived in
Seoul two years ago. But, I was also a family
member of a South Korean kidnapped by the
North," Ms. Jang said as she introduced herself
at a recent meeting of 30 people, who belong to
a group of South Koreans whose family members
were kidnapped by Pyeongyang.
Ms. Jang said it was the first time she had ever
spoken about her husband.
But Ms. Jang found life in Seoul different from
her expectations. "I thought the government
would take care of us, because we are the family
of a South Korean who had been kidnapped to the
North," Ms. Jang said. "But the reality was
different."
Ms. Jang is suffering from heart and kidney
complications. She also has poor vision and
difficulty in walking. She is living in a small
apartment provided by the government with
500,000 won ($433) of support per month.
"I can't even dream of receiving medical
treatment," Ms. Jang said. "I did not contribute
a thing to South Korea, but I still trusted the
government. If I had known what I would
encounter here, I would have stayed in the
North."
[Refugee reception]
by Lee Young-jong
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Lee Bu-young Becomes Uri Party Chairman
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
Moderate reformist Lee Bu-young on Thursday took
over the chairmanship of the ruling Uri Party,
replacing Rep. Shin Ki-nam, who resigned amid
growing criticism over wrongdoings committed by
his father during the 1910-1945 Japanese
colonial rule.
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KBS Probed for Airing NK Military Song
By Lee Jin-woo
Staff Reporter
Police on Thursday launched an investigation
into the state-run Korea Broadcasting System
(KBS), which used the North Korean military song
``Jokkiga,'' or the Song of the Red Flag, in its
politics parody program on Aug. 14.
Investigators will soon determine if the public
broadcaster violated the National Security Law
by airing the war song and whether the song was
used intentionally.
KBS used the song in its Media Focus program,
which is critical of some media reports, as the
background music of a flash animation for about
40 seconds. The short animation was aimed to
lampoon the government's strict ban on reporting
about the recent deployment of Korean troops to
Iraq.
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NGOs Warned Not to Encourage NK Defections
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
The government on Thursday again warned
nongovernmental groups (NGOs) that their active
encouragement of North Koreans to defect is not
in line with government policy.
``It is against government policy toward North
Korea for NGOs to prompt or prod North Korean
defectors to flee to South Korea,'' said Rhee
Bong-jo, vice unification minister during a news
Briefing [refugee encouragement]
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Historic Relics Discovered at North Korean Industrial Complex Site
[Yonhap,Aug.16th]
South and North Korean archeologists discovered thousands of relics and historic remains from the site for an industrial park in Kaesong, North Korea, a state-run South Korean developer said Monday.
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N. Korea Resumes Dismantling Propaganda Facilities Along Land
[Yonhap,Aug.12th]
North Korea has resumed dismantling its propaganda facilities along the heavily-armed border with South Korea, a key measure the former battlefield foes agreed to take to reduce tension, a government official said Thursday. The North had suspended taking down its propaganda loudspeakers and signboards after it boycotted inter-Korean military contacts in protest of the South's firing of warning shots at an intruding North Korean ship on July 14.
South Korean authorities saw themselves that the North was dismantling one or two propaganda facilities a day since Monday, a government official said on condition of anonymity. The South Korean government is considering whether it will also resume dismantling its own propaganda facilities as a reciprocal measure, the official said.
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Foreign Broadcasters Post Wrong Information
About Language of Korea
By Seo Dong-shin
Staff Reporter
Some influential foreign broadcasting companies' Web sites have posted wrong
information about South Korea and its language, an Internet-based civilian
diplomatic mission dubbed ``VANK'' said Wednesday.
For example, National Broadcasting Co. (NBC) in the United States says that
South Korea has two official languages_Korean and English_on its 2004 Athens
Olympics special web page.
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Koguryo Issue Top Priority: FM
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
South Korea will give top priority to tackling
China's move to distort history of the ancient
Koguryo kingdom, South Korea's top diplomat said
Wednesday.
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Chung expected to boost inter-Korean ties
With Unification Minister Chung Dong-young now
captain of the diplomatic and security team,
experts expect more government action to advance
inter-Korean ties that have made little progress
amid tension over the North's nuclear weapons
program.
Some political analysts said the National
Security Council would have less power as its
role of coordinating the Unification, Foreign
and Defense Ministries has now been delegated to
the heavyweight politician.
Although National Security Adviser Kwon Chin-ho
remains NSC chief, Chung heads
the council's standing committee.
"I think there will be some changes in government policies in the area," said
Paik Hak-soon, senior researcher at the private Sejong Institute. "The
government will try to upgrade South-North exchanges, though it has delayed
such an initiative due to the nuclear issue."
Paik said Roh's appointment of Chung as the chief of the diplomatic team
reflects the president's recognition that he should focus more on improving the
South-North relationship.
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North drops prohibitions on terms for South
Korea
North Korea is no longer banning the word
Hanguk, the short form of South Korea's official
name, or a semilar term, Daehan. Pyeongyang had
long insisted that the terms not be used there.
The North calls itself Joseon, and has insisted
on "South Joseon" for the South, just as
residents here call the North Bukhan, or North
Hanguk.
Some of the first effects of the North Korean
sensitivity were felt by the contractors
building two nuclear reactors in the North.
Several incidents were triggered by imported
goods marked with the terms.
And all South Korean vehicles delivering aid to
the North had to cover up the word. Truck
license plates with the names of South Korean
cities or provinces also had to be masked by
duct tape. The South Korean TV network KBS, or
Korea Broadcasting System, was asked to cover up
its company's logo when its satellite
transmission vehicles aired inter-Korean events
in the North. Reporters from a South Korean
daily newspaper, The Korea Daily News, had to
tape over their name cards.
Now, trucks from Korea Express, a South Korean
shipping company, are traveling to the North to
deliver South Korean rice aid ? and are not
hiding the origin of their shipments. Since
July, 85 trucks have been delivering rice there
without duct tape or repainting. The government
corporation in charge of rice aid said Seoul had
asked for the change, and Pyeongyang had posed
no objections.
by Lee Young-jong
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Uri Party Chairman Refuses to Resign Over Father's Past
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
Rep. Shin Ki-nam, chairman of the Uri Party, said Tuesday he would not
immediately step down from the ruling party's top post over his father's
alleged collaboration with Japan during the 1910-1945 colonial period.
``I'm not in a position to talk about my political future at this time,'' Shin
said on a radio program. ``It's not an easy issue that I can decide by myself.
I will ask for advice from other party officials before making a decision on my
course of action.''
In a major setback for the ruling camp's efforts to correct history, including
an attempt to launch a fact-finding mission into pro-Japanese collaborators
during the colonial years, Shin admitted on Monday that his father had served
as a military policeman in the Japanese army.
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Roh calls on country to deal with its past
In an emotional speech to the nation on
Liberation Day, President Roh Moo-hyun told
Koreans they must be prepared to examine some of
the most contentious issues of the country's
modern history, including the role of its
leaders during the Japanese colonial occupation
and their subsequent efforts to stifle the
growth of democracy.
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Liberation Day marred by violence in Seoul
Liberation Day was marked yesterday with
violence in central Seoul as leftist
demonstrators clashed with police, who used
water cannon to disperse the crowds. Separately,
right-wing protesters nearby burned North Korean
flags.
Two distinct groups held different rallies
yesterday in Gwanghwamun in the heart of Seoul,
causing severe traffic congestion in the city
center.
Around 7,000 leftists, largely members of the
nation's two umbrella labor unions, pro-
reunification groups and Hanchongryun, a radical
student association, tore apart a giant U.S.
flag and shouted such slogans as "Ditch the
South Korean-U.S. alliance," and "Korea's troop
dispatch to Iraq should be rescinded."
The participants gathered in front of Kyobo Book
Center at 2 p.m. and attempted to surround the
nearby U.S. Embassy compound by forming scrum-
like "human chains."
The police prevented the formation of the
chains, leading to the outbreak of violent
brawls. The police resorted to water cannons to
break up the rally.
At about 4 p.m. in front of nearby City Hall,
members of right-wing civic groups, estimated at
around 2,500 in number, burned a giant North
Korean flag
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For North's defectors, a village
In an attempt to assist North Korean defectors
in adapting to life in the South, human rights
and religious groups say they will build a
village for refugees in the capital region.
Tentatively named the Tongil, or Unification,
Village, the complex will offer shelter to about
100 households.
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Roh Proposes Assembly Panel to Right History
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun Sunday proposed setting
up a special committee in the National Assembly
to carry out a comprehensive review of the
nation's modern history, stressing the need to
correct distortions such as the status of pro-
Japanese collaborators.
-
NK Notifies South of Plan to Release Mt. Kumgang
Dam
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
North Korea notified South Korea over the
weekend of its plan to release water from the
Mt. Kumgang Dam, located in the upper part of
the Han River, beginning from Sunday.
It is the second time for Pyongyang to give
notice on its opening of the sluice gate of the
dam, also called the Imnam dam, since May 2002.
At that time, the North opened the floodgate for
24 days from July 26.
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Chung Seeks to Mend Ties With N. Korea
By Park Song-wu, Seo Dong-shin
Staff Reporters
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young on Sunday
expressed regret at the halt to inter-Korean
government talks, saying it has resulted from a
chain of events that have irritated Pyongyang.
``It is regretful that the North has
misunderstood a series of issues such as the
massive defection of North Koreans to Seoul and
the South's refusal to allow its citizens to
visit the North (to offer condolences on the
anniversary
of the death of founding leader Kim Il-sung),'' Chung said at a media
conference.
He did not clarify whether his expression of regret is intended as an olive
branch to the North.
Chung said the North believes the recent passage of a human rights bill in the
U.S. House of Representatives triggered the South to bring more than 450 North
Koreans to Seoul via a third Asian country.
``But it is not true,'' Chung said. ``We helped them come to the South because
the situation in the third country where they had stayed became acute. Our
policy is to help those North Koreans wandering in third countries.''
Chung, however, asked South Korean civic groups that have been involved in
helping North Koreans reach Seoul to restrain from ``promoting'' defection by
those in the North.
However, the event was scrapped after Pyongyang demanded that Seoul send
delegates from two pro-North Korea groups _ the Pan-Korean Alliance for
Unification and radical university student body Hanchongryon _ to the event.
Such groups have not attended the celebrations over the past three years. The
North blames South Korea's refusal to permit the delegations to attend the
event for the cancellation
Both direct and indirect statements from North Korea have been unusually harsh
in their criticism of the South in July and August. Pyongyang has attacked
Seoul over diverse issues such as joint military exercises with the United
States,
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South Korea Warns of Possible North Terrorism
By REUTERS
Published: August 16, 2004
Filed at 2:15 a.m. ET
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea is threatening to use terrorism against the
South, Seoul's intelligence agency said in a rare public advisory on Monday,
and warned South Korean citizens in China and Southeast Asia to be on their
guard.
The attacks may be in retaliation for the recent airlift of a large group of
North Korean refugees, the National Intelligence Service said
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Park Chung-hee Assassin Brings Political Storm
By Lee Jin-woo
Staff Reporter
On Oct. 26, 1979, South Korea experienced one of
the most controversial events in its modern
history.
Kim Jae-kyu, then chief of the Korea Central
Intelligence Agency (KCIA), predecessor of the
National Intelligence Agency, shot then
President Park Chung-hee and his political rival
Cha Ji-chul to death during a party at a secret
KCIA residence in Kungjung-dong, Seoul.
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GNP Leader Apologizes for Father's Mistakes
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
Park Geun-hye, chairwoman of the opposition
Grand National Party (GNP), on Thursday offered
former President Kim Dae-jung an apology for his
suffering during the authoritarian rule of her
father, late President Park Chung-hee.
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Civic Group Urges NK to Host Aug. 15 Program
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
A pro-unification civic group in Seoul Thursday
urged North Korea to carry through with the Aug.
15 civic exchange program, saying Pyongyang's
request for Seoul to allow ``anti-state'' bodies
to attend lacks persuasiveness.
``The stumbling block at this moment is
Pyongyang's demand for Seoul to let two
controversial bodies participate in the event,''
Lee Jeom-ho, policy-making manager of the Korean
Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, told
The Korea Times.
Pyongyang recently made it a condition of
hosting the event that Seoul should permit
delegates from the two pro-North Korea groups _
the Pan-Korean Alliance for Unification and the
radical university student body Hanchongryon _
to participate in the fourth occasion of the
yearly event.
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3 Candlelight Vigil Organizers Charged
By Lee Jin-woo
Staff Reporter
The prosecution on Thursday indicted three
leaders of a civic coalition on charges of
organizing candlelight vigils in Seoul last year
in tribute to two Korean schoolgirls, who were
killed by an armored vehicle of the U.S. army in
2002, without permission from police.
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Koreas may hold summit next month, ex-lawmaker says
A high-level North Korean official said a second inter-Korean summit might be held in September or October, a former lawmaker claimed yesterday.
The North Korean intelligence official in China recently told a South Korean senior official that there were signs a meeting may be held in coming months between President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, former Rep. Chang Sung-min of the opposition Millennium Democratic Party quoted the South Korean official as saying.
He did not elaborate except to say the North Korean official said the meeting could be in Pyongyang or Seoul or a third country.
Speculation has been rampant that a second summit may be held before the U.S. presidential election in November
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Roh tries for a truce with the military
Although it was billed as a "peace treaty"
luncheon, President Roh Moo-hyun had a few
pointed words for the minister of defense, Yoon
Kwang-ung, and 70 senior military officers at
the Blue House yesterday.
Mr. Roh urged the military to take the
initiative to "clarify and disclose problem
issues in the military's past." He told his
guests, "This would be a good time for the
military to regain the public's trust."
-
Government to Examine Historical Distortions
By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
Prime Minister Lee Hai-chan ordered his Cabinet
on Wednesday to examine how South Korean history
is introduced in foreign nations' textbooks,
stressing a multi-sided approach is needed to
tackle China's move to distort Korean history
involving the ancient Koguryo Kingdom.
-
YS Opposes Scrapping of National Security Law
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
Former President Kim Young-sam said Tuesday he
is opposed to the idea of abolishing the anti-
communist national security law.
``The National Security Law must not be annulled
under any circumstances as the nation may face
serious problems without it,'' Kim said during a
meeting with Grand National Party (GNP)
chairwoman Park Geun-hye, who was on the third
leg of her series of meetings with former heads
of state.
-
North's reaction to 'war plans'
North Korea is reacting hysterically to what it believes is the latest version of OPLAN 5027-04, claiming that the United States and South Korea have established a new plan for preemptive war against the North, incorporating lessons learned from the war in Iraq. The Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland (Jopyeongtong), an official propaganda agency on inter-Korean affairs, argued in a statement last week that "the U.S. imperialists and the South Korean military have worked out a new operational plan in order to complete their scheme of invading the North."
These days you often don't need to wage extensive cloak and dagger operations to obtain your adversary's war plans because they are available on the Internet, although you have to be cautious to differentiate the real ones from false or tentative versions. U.S., Japanese and South Korean media have shown great interest in the U.S. OPLAN series and have given prominent coverage whenever they are informed of an updated plan.
We suspect Pyongyang officials may have come across such an Internet or media-edited version of a war plan, although they act like they have extracted a great military secret from the Pentagon. Unfortunately, however, we can find sufficient reasons for their apparent overreaction.
Inter-Korean activities have again slipped into a lull after a recent series of unfavorable events, including Seoul's aborting a plan by some civic groups to participate in ceremonies in Pyongyang observing the 10th anniversary of Kim Il-sung's death, the arrival in Seoul of hundreds of North Korean refugees, and naval tensions in the West Sea off the North Korean coast. In addition, there was the reported U.S. obstruction of the Gaeseong industrial estate project with a ban on the introduction of American-licensed "strategic" items into the economic cooperation zone.
Probably partly reflecting these various circumstances, the Jopyongtong statement strongly denounced the alleged U.S. operations plan, terming it a "most dangerous war scenario" that revealed Washington's attempt at a preemptive blitzkrieg attack on North Korea with precision guided weapons and other high-tech military equipment. It asserted that the plan for relocating U.S. forces in Korea, including the move of the Yongsan headquarters to an area south of Seoul, is all related to what it called the U.S. invasion plan.
Then it threatened retaliation with what was implied as its nuclear power. "If the U.S. imperialists make a miscalculation about our capabilities and ignite a war, our military and people will explode the just power of deterrent, crush all who provoked the war and completely eliminate them from the face of the earth," the statement threatened.
Pyongyang for some time has been saying that it needs nuclear power as the ultimate deterrent against external invasion. As strong as the North Korean statement is, it bespeaks a fear of U.S. attack although more reasonable thinking could conclude that a U.S. invasion of the North is nearly inconceivable in this election year. Yet, one can also reckon that this fear must be driving the North toward accelerating its nuclear and missile development programs by all possible means.
For a long time, especially since the end of the Cold War with the breakup of the Soviet Union and the transformation of China, North Korean paranoia about its security has been the key factor determining Pyongyang's internal as well as external policies. That paranoia explains much of North Korea's behavior on the international stage. The obsession has reached its peak in the face of the U.S. war on Iraq, which demonstrated advanced U.S. capabilities for high-tech warfare which could be used even better against North Korea.
OPLAN 5027, and 5026 - a separate plan for the defense of Seoul and its vicinity - both presuppose an all-out North Korean attack, but, quite ironically, it seems they also provide a reason for the North to stick to and spur its development of nuclear armament. Here, we can see the counterproductive effect of all the publicity given to the U.S. war scenarios, although it of course had to be expected.
2004.08.10
-
Olympics aired North and South, but in HDTV here
Both North and South Koreans will be able to
watch the Olympics live this month, thanks to
some help from South Korean television crews in
Athens. But the broadcast quality will be higher
here.
Broadcasters from both sides of the
Demilitarized Zone said after a meeting in Mount
Geumgang on Aug. 4 and 5 that the crews from
Seoul would film events involving North or South
Korea, the opening and closing ceremonies and
other highlights and provide them to Pyeongyang
for rebroadcast in North Korea, either live or
delayed
-
History war' begins at home
It is said that the government has decided to
settle the issue of the distortion of the
history of the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo by
the Chinese authorities by biding its time. If
the Chinese government continues to refuse to
correct the distortions it has made on the
history of Goguryeo, there are very limited
means at our disposal.
If there is no means with which we can win a
quick victory, our best option is applying
diplomatic pressure on the governmental level
with a long-term view, while cooperating with
North Korea, which possesses various Goguryeo
relics and accumulated research on Goguryeo, in
setting the record straight.
[Koguryo]
-
Panel Begins Inquiry Into Assassination of Ex-
President
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
A government panel began operations on Monday to
inquire into the truth behind the assassination
of former President Park Chung-hee.
The Commission for the Democratization Movement
Activists' Honor-Restoration and Compensation is
expected to become the bone of contention as it
will invite strong repercussions from the
conservative sector in the process of reviewing
the 1979 assassination of Park.
The committee will focus on whether the killer,
Kim Jae-kyu, can be considered to have helped
the democratization of the country.
-
Inter-Korean Summit Looms
Expectations High for Peaceful Resolution to Nuclear Crisis
Despite the government's firm denial, speculations are running high that North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il would come to the South within this year to hold
summit talks with President Roh Moo-hyun.
Rumors are not just coming from inner circles of the ruling Uri Party but also
from sources in mainland China.
They say the summit, the follow-up of the former president Kim Dae-jung's
historic meeting with the Northern leader in Pyongyang in June 2000, will take
place in October or sometime after the end of the U.S. presidential election
slated for November.
-
S. Korea Helps NK Watch Olympics
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
North Korean people will be able to enjoy the
upcoming Olympic Games in Athens as South Korea
has accepted the North's request to relay the
broadcast of the sporting event to Pyongyang.
The Korean Broadcasting Commission (KBC) in
Seoul said Sunday that it has recently agreed
with its Northern counterpart over the relaying
of the Summer Games broadcast to North Korea via
satellite.
In the past, the North has usually pirated the
broadcasting of international sporting events
instead of buying broadcasting rights.
Athletes from the two Koreas are scheduled to
march into the stadium together under one Korean
flag during the opening and closing ceremonies
of the games, which begin on Aug. 13 and
continue for 17 days.
-
Park challenges Roh over issue of Goguryeo
Openly appealing to nationalist sentiment over a
historical dispute with China involving the
1,500-year-old kingdom called Goguryeo, Park
Geun-hye, the leader of the Grand National Party
leader, decried yesterday what she called the
Roh administration's tepid response to Beijing.
Ms. Park proposed a political response to the
issue, suggesting the establishment of a joint
body within the National Assembly among
political parties to counter China's attempts to
claim Goguryeo. The governing Uri Party reacted
positively to the idea and said it would look
into ways of cooperating with North Korea to
counter China's claims.
The Grand National Party also sent a protest
Beijing yesterday, and Ms. Park said she would
meet with the Chinese ambassador to Seoul, Li
Bin, on Aug. 13.
Eleven Grand National lawmakers will visit China
today to tour the various Goguryeo remains and
relics in the northeast of the country
[Koguryo]
-
Northern academic to research for South
A North Korean sociologist has been commissioned
to do research for a state-run South Korean
institute. The Korea Educational Development
Institute said it has selected Dr. Kim Dok-yu, a
64-year-old North Korean, to carry out research
projects commissioned by the World Bank and the
Global Development Network.
Last month, the two international organizations
asked the South Korean institute to work on nine
projects on education in the Asia-Pacific region.
The institute publicly recruited researchers;
Mr. Kim applied through a university in China.
He is a senior researcher of North Korea's
Sociological Association. He will research the
North's programs for assisting sociologists and
will be paid $30,000. The South Korean institute
said that its selection of Mr. Kim would
increase inter-Korean academic exchanges.
-
Seoul Seeks NK Help Over History
By Yoo Dong-ho and Seo Dong-shin
Staff Reporters
South Korea is considering joining with North
Korea to address China's continued distortions
of Korean history involving the ancient kingdom
of Koguryo, vice Unification Minister Rhee Bong-
jo said Friday.
As inter-Korean cooperation on China's
misrepresentation of Korean history has gained
momentum through various civilian exchanges, we
will seek diversified measures after working-
level consultations with the North,'' Rhee said
during a press conference. [Joint Korean]
-
Song Du-yul departs Korea for Germany
Song Du-yul, a Korean-German sociologist who was
convicted of subversion and then released from
prison on appeal last month, flew to Germany
yesterday along with his wife, Chung Chung-hee.
[Human rights] [National Security Law]
-
European Headquarters of Pomminryon Asserts
Innocence of Korean Scholar in Germany
Pyongyang, August 5 (KCNA) -- The European
Headquarters of the National Alliance for the
Country's Reunification (Pomminryon) issued a
statement on July 24 as regards the release of
Song Tu Ryul, a Korean scholar in Germany.
Welcoming his release, the statement said:
The south Korean authorities had kept Song in
custody for 10 months on charge of the violation
of the "Security Law," the only evil law in the
world, playing down his academic success and
damaging his personality. This is intolerable.
-
Seoul Seeks NK Help Over History
By Yoo Dong-ho and Seo Dong-shin
Staff Reporters
South Korea is considering joining with North
Korea to address China's continued distortions
of ancient Korean history involving Koguryo,
vice Unification Minister Rhee Bong-jo said
Friday.
-
Dissident professor's departure:
Korean-
German professor Song Du-yul, left, and his wife
wave to his supporters at Incheon International
Airport, Thursday, before leaving Korea. Song
has decided to return to Germany after being
released from jail on July 21. The Seoul
appellate court acquitted him of key charges of
violating the National Security Law and gave him
a suspended term. {photo] [Human rights]
-
Professor Song Leaves for Germany
By Lee Jin-woo
Staff Reporter
Song Du-yul, a Korean-German professor who was
recently freed from jail after being given a
suspended prison term for violating the National
Security Laws, on Thursday departed from the
country for Germany.
The 59-year-old sociology professor at Muenster
University boarded an aircraft of Lufthansa
airline at Incheon International Airport,
departing at 2:35 p.m. for Frankfurt.
He was accompanied by his wife and his lawyer
Kim Hyung-tae, who had helped Song with a legal
battle at a district court and an appellate
court in Seoul.
Before Song's departure, some supporters
gathered at the airport to bid him farewell.
Song decided to go back to Germany in order to
give lectures for winter session classes, which
he had postponed for almost a year in order to
come to Korea last September, ending 37 years of
exile for his alleged pro-Pyongyang activities.
On Aug. 2 shortly after he was freed, Song paid
tribute to those who fought and died for the
nation's democracy during the 1980 Kwangju
Uprising at the national cemetery in Kwangju.
He also made a short trip to Cheju Island on
Aug. 3 where he spent his childhood, visiting a
cemetery for the victims of a massacre caused by
ideological disputes back in the late 40s.
-
GNP Defends Anti-Communist Law Against Uri Party
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
Kim Deog-ryong, floor leader of the Grand
National Party (GNP), on Thursday reconfirmed
the opposition party's support of the anti-
communist law and reiterated their disagreement
with the ruling Uri Party's plan to scrap it.
The articles in question, however, have been
criticized by the United Nations as infringing
on the basic human right of freedom of
expression and North Korea has long demanded the
law be dropped as a prerequisite to improved
relations with the South.
[National Security Law] [Human rights]
-
North and South Korean Teachers Hold Joint
Meeting
North and South Korean teachers meet at the foot
of Mt. Kumgang.
North and South Korean teachers held their joint
meeting at the foot of Mt. Kumgang on July 19
for the first time since the division of the
Korean Peninsula.
-
North and South Korea Hold 10th Round of
Separated Family Reunions
-
Inter-Korean Farmers Meeting Held at Mt. Kumgang Resort
Korean Farmers Determine to Take Lead in Reunification Movement
-
S. Korean Organizations Urge Liquidation of Past
Pyongyang, August 3 (KCNA) -- Representatives of
over 300 civic and public organizations in south
Korea reportedly held a press conference of all
civic and public organizations for urging the
right liquidation of the past at a citizens'
park of Kwanghwamun in Seoul on July 29. The
press conference was called to castigate the
Grand National Party for openly opposing the
revision of the "special law on probing the
truth behind the pro-Japanese and anti-national
actions" and the "law on probing the truth
behind the suspicious deaths".
-
Navy monument must go on
The Navy's 2nd Fleet was planning to build a
monument in Wolmi Park in Incheon to commemorate
the inter-Korean naval skirmish in the Yellow
Sea in 2002. But the project has been halted due
to some local civic groups' protests. Our
society is facing a lamentable situation in
which the military cannot even build a victory
monument at its former base.
The civic groups have also said they would
initiate a movement to remove the statue of
General Douglas MacArthur, who led the
amphibious landing at Incheon during the Korean
War. Such moves coincide with a number of
strange happenings in the country.
The civic groups argue that building the Yellow
Sea skirmish monument is anachronistic and that
it would encourage hostile confrontation between
the two Koreas. [Role of ROK military]
-
U.S. and S. Korean Authorities Hit for Their
Allurement and Abduction of North Koreans Abroad
Pyongyang, August 3 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for
the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea gave the following answer to a
question put by KCNA Tuesday as regards the
recent allurement and abduction of many
northerners abroad to south Korea: Recently the
south Korean authorities, at the U.S.
instigation and under its command, faked up the
so-called "massive defection of northerners and
their transfer." They took away hundreds of
northerners, mainly women and children, to south
Korea in groups after alluring them to Vietnam
via the vicinity of the DPRK on a phased basis.
As a matter of fact, most of the northerners
whom they described as "defectors from the
north" are those who fell victim to the
allurement tactics of the enemy's spy organs
after going to Northeast China for a visit to
their relatives.
It is by no means accidental that this case was
faked up in less a week after the "bill on human
rights in north Korea" envisaging fabulous
"financial aid" to the "defectors from the
north" was passed through the U.S. House of
Representatives.
U.S. media are making much fuss, as if they had
been waiting for the opportunity to occur, that
the wholesale defection of north Koreans proves
bankruptcy of the north Korean regime's
education, information activities and control
over its citizens. They cry for joy that it
would be a best scenario if this leads to the
collapse of north Korea.
This clearly proves that the recent case was, to
all intents and purposes, a product of the U.S.
hostile DPRK policy whose ultimate aim is to
topple its political system and it was prompted
by the deliberate intention of dishonest
elements in south Korea desirous of discord and
confrontation between the north and the south.
What should not be overlooked is that Vietnam
conspired with them in this case.
The DPRK has information enough to prove that
Vietnam was involved in the plot of the U.S. and
the south Korean authorities to allure and
abduct citizens of the DPRK.
Through its involvement in the case Vietnam self-
exposed that it can stoop to any perfidious
action, discarding elementary sense of
obligation and morality between the states, in
order to meet its own interests.
The DPRK will certainly make non-governmental
organizations in some countries pay for their
flesh traffic worldwide as they have been
engrossed in threatening, alluring and trading
off DPRK citizens under the signboard of
humanitarianism at the instigation of the U.S.
The U.S. seems to calculate that it can use the
issue of "defectors" for bringing down the DPRK
as it did erstwhile East European countries.
This is, however, as foolish an act as trying to
put an end to the sun.
No issue between the DPRK and the U.S., to say
nothing of the nuclear issue, can be settled
unless the U.S. fundamentally drops its hostile
policy toward the DPRK.
-
Uri Endeavors to Scrap Anti-Communist Law
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
The ruling Uri Party is moving to jump-start its stalled drive to do away with
the nation's anti-communist law, which carries harsh penalties for expressing
sympathy with North Korea.
In a party's forum Wednesday morning, a group of 46 lawmakers agreed to put
forth a bill late this month aiming to annul what they claim is a ``draconian''
law.
``The National Security Law, which defines North Korea as an anti-state
organization, is an obstacle we have to overcome to promote reconciliation and
cooperation between the two Koreas,'' said student activist-turned-legislator
Im Jong-seok.
The law, enacted in 1948 and subsequently revised seven times, has long been an
object of controversy as it has often been used by past authoritarian
governments as a tool to crack down on pro-democracy activists and opposition
figures.
-
Hyundai Stays on Course Year After MH's Death
By Park Chung-a
Staff Reporter
Exactly one year ago, the entire nation was plunged into shock when Chung
Mong-hun, chairman of Hyundai Asan, committed suicide by jumping from the 12th
floor of his office in Seoul. He was 54.
Wednesday is the first anniversary of Chung Mong-hun's death, the fifth son of
Chung Ju-yung, the founder of the Hyundai Group, once the largest conglomerate
in Korea. Junior Chung had been at the cockpit of inter-Korean economic
cooperation since his father's death in 2001.
His death came amid a major political row over payment of money to North Korea.
Chung was indicted for his role as a conduit in the so-called cash-for-summit
deal, in which the Kim Dae-jung government was accused of sending millions of
dollars to North Korea in return for agreeing to have the landmark summit of
the two Koreas in June 2000. Chung has been portrayed as a scapegoat of the
partitioned Korean peninsula and for shady ties between business and political
circles
-
Seoul Won't Address NK Human Testing
By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter
The South Korean government will not confront Pyongyang over claims by a North
Korean scientist that he used chemical weapons to experiment on political
prisoners before defecting to the South, a senior official at the Unification
Ministry has said.
``It's hard to check the authenticity of the North Korean defector's
allegation,'' the official told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity.
``But unless the claims can be clarified, we will not take up the issue with
North Korea.''
[Human rights] [Media]
-
Kim Dae-jung: A political profile
BBC Asia specialist Larry Jagan on the life and times of former dissident, Kim Dae-jung, President of South Korea.
Kim Dae-jung was elected in December 1997 after promising voters democratic reform, and campaigns to curb corruption and the political power of the country's industrial conglomerates, known as the chaebols.
He said he would start meaningful talks with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il - a pledge which he has now made good.
-
Kim Dae-jung - Biography
Nobel Peace Prize 2000
-
Seoul Calls for Early Resumption of Inter-Korean
Ministerial Talks
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
The Unification Ministry on Tuesday called on
North Korea to resume inter-Korean ministerial
talks at the earliest possible date.
The South Korean government expressed its regret
concerning North Korea's cancellation of the
meeting scheduled Aug. 3-6 in the South's
capital of Seoul.
-
Seoul Pressed to Address Claims of Human
Experiments in NK
By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter
A BBC documentary program quoting a North Korean
scientist who claims he experimented with
chemical weapons on political prisoners has
upped international pressure on Seoul to address
the human rights issue with Pyongyang.
But the South Korean government said Monday it
will not bring up the issue with the North
unless the claims can be verified. ``It's hard
to check the authenticity of the North Korean
defectors allegation,'' a senior official at the
Unification Ministry told The Korea Times on
condition of anonymity.
He said while the international community may
blame Seoul for failing to challenge Pyongyang
over the claims, the ministry believes raising
the human rights issue would hurt progress in
inter-Korean relations. ``South Korea fully
understands the seriousness of the North Korean
humanitarian issue but we are taking a different
approach to that of the international
community.''
The BBC reporter, Olenka Frenkiel, in February
presented a similar story featuring another
defector who said he witnessed atrocities in
prison camps,
including human experiments. Those claims were dismissed by South Korea's
National Intelligence Service, prompting Frenkiel to search for other defectors
to back her story.
[human rights] [Media]
-
'SM-2 launch enhances Korea's midrange antiaircraft defense capability'
The South Korean Navy successfully test-fired a midrange ship-to-air guided missile, a senior naval official said yesterday.
The test-firing was conducted in Hawaii on July 29 and 31 during a multinational naval exercise dubbed "Rim of the Pacific." Other participants were the United States, Britain, Japan, Australia, Canada and Chile.
The destroyer, the Adm. Yi Sun-shin, is equipped with such high-tech weapons as Rolling Airframe Missiles and antisubmarine helicopters, as well as radar-evading stealth features. (RAM - used against anti-ship missiles)
-
'I've done a lot of cruelty to animals'
It's brutal, nauseating and absurd. And it's on
its way to the UK. Steve Rose on the new South
Korean cinema
Monday August 2, 2004
The Guardian
Kim Ki-duk likes to claim that he doesn't make
films to shock. "I make films thinking that life
is beautiful," says the director. "That embrace
happiness and unhappiness. They are one." Anyone
who has seen his film The Isle may disagree. The
Isle lures people in with beautiful lakeland
scenery, only to send them out vomiting, thanks
to some horrific scenes involving fish-hooks.
The film's UK release has been delayed until
this September, as the British Board of Film
Classification objected to scenes involving
cruelty to fish and other creatures. Kim feels
some remorse: "We cooked all the fish we used in
the film and ate them, expressing our
appreciation. I've done a lot of cruelty on
animals in my films. And I will have a guilty
conscience for the rest of my life."
The Isle is one of at least six new Korean
movies that are coming to the UK in the next
three months. In the past decade, South Korea's
film industry has staged a miraculous
renaissance, going from mediocre to a standard
probably higher than Britain's. Last year it was
one of the few places in the world where
homemade films outsold Hollywood ones; and South
Korean films have been scooping up major prizes
at festivals like Cannes and Berlin, and are
being exported in ever-greater quantities.
Park has enjoyed greater commercial success than
Kim at home. His Joint Security Area, a tough
thriller about escalating tensions with North
Korea, became the country's most successful film
ever back in 2000
-
Official site promotes North's view
A statement openly supporting North Korea's
political agenda was posted on the Internet site
of the Government Information Agency, the
mouthpiece of the Roh administration, the
JoongAng Ilbo found yesterday.
The contribution, written by an Internet user,
was screened by the site's operator
(www.news.go.kr).
The writer urged the formation of a South Korean
delegation as soon as possible to express
condolences to North Korea on the 10th
anniversary of the death of its leader, Kim Il
Sung.
The statement also criticized the South's recent
acceptance of North Korean defectors, calling it
a violation of the agreement between the two
Koreas' leaders in June 2000.
-
Former Chairman of Hanchongryon Sentenced to
Penal Servitude
Pyongyang, August 1 (KCNA) -- The Seoul Western
District Court sentenced Jong Jae Uk, chairman
of the 11th-term south Korean Federation of
University Student Councils, to three years'
imprisonment and five years' stay of execution
on July 29, according to south Korean MBC. The
court charged him with violation of the
"Security Law" and the "law on rally and
demonstration".
-
National Reunification Institute Issues White
Paper
Pyongyang, August 1 (KCNA) -- The National
Reunification Institute made public a white
paper Saturday to lay bare the deceptive nature
of the U.S. cutdown of imperialist aggression
troops in south Korea and bring their aggressive
nature home to the people at home and abroad.
The U.S. has staged several farces of troop
cutdown since its military occupation of south
Korea on September 8, 1945. But history has
never seen any drastic reduction of the U.S.
imperialist aggression troops in south Korea.
-
Defectors Call on Seoul to Block Repatriation
By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter
A group of North Korean defectors made a last-
minute plea to the Foreign Ministry over the
weekend to prevent the repatriation of about 20
other defectors, including their relatives, who
were arrested in China in June.
-
No bed of roses for North Korean defectors
Discrimination and free market forces combine to give them a tough life after
honeymoon is over
By Lee Jun Bok
MOST North Koreans go to South Korea with a vague 'South Korean dream'.
Former North Korean Ms Lee Yae Seon (right) now runs a beer pub. -- LEE YAE SEON
But as soon as the excitement of arriving settles in, they face the realities
of a free market economy in which nothing is free.
Few of them succeed and, unable to integrate into the mainstream South Korean
society, most end up depending on government support.
One of the luckier ones is Ms Lee Yae Seon, 39.
She has been operating a beer pub in Sanggye-dong with two other North Koreans
for almost a year and is now making a small profit of about 1.2 million won
(S$1,760) a month.
But adapting to life in South Korea has not been easy for Ms Lee either.
In North Korea, she was an actress in the Bekdusan theatre group, operated by
the army to provide entertainment and propaganda for its troops.
'When I came here, I knew I had to start all over again. But I was okay with
that. I was happy to take charge finally of my own life,' said Ms Lee, who went
to South Korea via China in January last year.
The sheer joy of earning money and keeping it motivates her.
'If we can keep it up like this, someday I'll be able to buy a real car. It's a
dream coming true, you know?' she said.
For Mr Yoon In Ho, 29, things are different.
The former skier arrived in 1999. Initially, he tried modelling, but his North
Korean accent and the cold treatment from South Korean co-workers made him quit
after only six months.
A two-month crash course at Hanawon, a government centre assisting North
Koreans to adjust to life in South Korea, payment of initial settlement funds
and free education are the basic help most North Koreans receive.
While fewer than 10 North Koreans arrived each year up to the early 1990s, more
than 1,000 have made the dangerous journey annually since 2002.
The comments of one defector might serve as an indicator of what many of these
North Koreans can expect once they get here.
He said: 'The honeymoon was over as soon as I got here.'
-
Modern Korean History Sparks Political Controversy
Following President Roh Moo-hyun's statement that a national project of dealing
comprehensively with controversial historical problems was needed while he was
receiving a report from Truth Commission, the Uri Party announced Sunday that
the party would set up a "Truth and Reconciliation Committee.'
Uri Party chairman Shin Ki-nam said at the press
conference, "We need to straighten our dark
legacies from the periods of Japanese colonial
period and past military rule. When democratic
reformists were not the majority party, this
could not be done. Although it's late, we should
shake off those legacies."
Shin did not cover the point that it was a
rewriting Korea's modern and current history
based on the ruling party's historical view.
According to the logic of Uri Party, the work of
liquidating the past was necessary for the
future.
-
Roh upholds reconciliatory policy toward North Korea
Amidst the cold spell between the Koreas following the mass defection of North Koreans to Seoul last week, President Roh Moo-hyun reaffirmed his resolve to pursue reconciliation projects with Pyongyang to contain the negative impact.
It remains unclear, however, whether the South and North can open their ministerial talks tomorrow as scheduled because Pyongyang has refused Seoul's offer to prepare the four-day negotiations.
Most government officials and experts believe the cool period will be temporary.
Amidst the cold spell between the Koreas following the mass defection of North Koreans to Seoul last week, President Roh Moo-hyun reaffirmed his resolve to pursue reconciliation projects with Pyongyang to contain the negative impact.
It remains unclear, however, whether the South and North can open their ministerial talks tomorrow as scheduled because Pyongyang has refused Seoul's offer to prepare the four-day negotiations.
Most government officials and experts believe the cool period will be temporary.
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Designation of Hanchong as Enemy-Benefiting
Organization Condemned
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) -- The south Korean
authorities designated the south Korean Council
of Youth Organizations (Hanchong) as an enemy-
benefiting organization and sentenced its
chairman to two years' imprisonment and two
years' suspension of qualification and its vice-
chairman and executive chairman respectively to
one and a half years' imprisonment, one year's
suspension of qualification and three years'
stay of execution in a trial on July 20
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Roh Vows to Step Up Inter-Korean Cooperation
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
South Korea will step up efforts to promote
inter-Korean cooperation and exchange projects
under the policy of engaging North Korea,
President Roh Moo-hyun said Saturday.
``The government will maintain its policy of
inter-Korean reconciliation to expedite various
projects like the linkage of cross-border
railways and roads, and civilian exchanges,''
Roh said while meeting with security-related
senior officials.
Roh also vowed the government will make further
efforts to open the demonstration industrial
complex for South Korean firms in North Korea's
border town of Kaesong by the end of the year as
scheduled.
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North Koreans here face society quickly
Last of three articles
With the recent arrival of hundreds of North
Korean defectors to Seoul, reportedly from
Vietnam, this week, defectors and officials
alike are voicing concerns over the lack of
resettlement facilities and programs for the
rapidly increasing number of defectors here.
Since 1998, the number of North Korean defectors
coming into South Korea has been doubling
annually, and is expected to reach 2,000 this
year. Currently, there are 5,600 North Korean
defectors settled in the South. If this trend
persists, within two years we will witness an
era of 10,000 defectors per year. Some policy
changes are necessary.
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Roh supports panel that hailed North spies
Saying the nation needs to understand its
mistakes and learn from them, President Roh Moo-
hyun offered his support yesterday for a
presidential truth commission that has been
attacked by conservatives for ruling that former
North Korean spies could be considered democracy
activists.
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Roh Urges Project to Address Past Wrongdoings
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun on Friday cited the need
for a comprehensive national project to deal
with past wrongdoings that have so far passed
unnoticed.
The liberal head of state's remark is widely
understood as an instruction to the presidential
fact-finding body for handling those who
collaborated with Japan during the 1910-45
Japanese colonial rule and other wrongdoings
committed under other iron-fisted rulers in the
past.
In a related development, Roh accused opposition
parties of using criticism of the commission in
an attempt to attack him, giving his approval to
a recent ruling by the presidential fact-finding
body in favor of pro-North Korean activities of
the past.
``I think opposition forces have criticized the
commission in order to pick a fight with me.''
The presidential commission recently ruled that
the unwarranted use of state power, namely
torture, led to the deaths of three North Korean
spies in the 1970s, and that their deaths
contributed to the pro-democracy movement,
inviting a backlash from the conservative
opposition Grand National Party (GNP).
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Pyongyang's Angry Reaction
Inter-Korean Relations Undergo Severe Test
As anticipated, North Korea severely criticized
the South Thursday for bringing in some 470
Northern fugitives from a Southeast Asian
country, calling it "premeditated abduction and
terrorism in broad daylight."
In a bitter statement read by the Committee for
the Peaceful Unification of Fatherland, the
Northern regime warned that the South should
take responsibility for the consequences of
providing shelter to them. It also said that all
other parties involved in the case would be paid
due prices.
The North's angry reaction forebodes ill for the
development of inter-Korean relations. The North
is now at loggerheads with the South due to the
recent developments such as the abortion of a
Southern delegation's trip to Pyongyang to pay
tribute to the late Kim Il-sung on the 10th
anniversary of his death and the repulsion of a
Northern patrol boat which intruded into
Southern waters on the West Sea.
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