ROK and Inter-Korean relations
October 2004
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Mysterious Incident in East Sea
Possible Intrusion of Northern Submarines Prompts Speculation
The appearance of mysterious objects in the East Sea on Sunday is belatedly
drawing concern, as they are suspected of being North Korean submarines
intruding into our sovereign waters.
The JoongAng Ilbo, a mass-circulation local paper, triggered the controversy
after revealing their identity in its Thursday edition. The paper reported that
the government was informed of the approach of Northern submarines by U.S.
intelligence. After spotting the intruders, the South's Navy drove them away
with a volley of depth charges. However, the Ministry of Defense immediately
denied the report, warning that it would take punitive action against the daily
unless it corrected the story. When the incident occurred, the ministry said
that naval operations to locate North Korean submarines off the east coast were
conducted, but no vessels were found. In rejecting the report, the ministry
conceded that depth charges had been used in the area, saying that it was
standard action whenever ``submarine'' operations were launched. It also said
that U.S. intelligence concerning Northern submarines should always be treated
with caution.
Regardless of the ministry's prompt denial, there is speculation that North
Korean submarines might have infiltrated into our waters either for spying
operations or for testing the South's military strength and preparedness.
Suspicions are further fueled by four missing crewmen from a small naval ship
that the ministry said was taking part in a drill in the East Sea on Tuesday.
Only one crewman was saved. The ministry said that the vessel went aground
because of inclement weather and engine problems.
But the general public is not convinced by the ministry's explanations, as
fishing vessels in the East Sea on the same day reportedly did not experience
weather problems and returned safely to port. Some are even suggesting the four
missing personnel might have been killed during a naval operation against the
intruders.
No matter what the truth is behind the incident, it has once again brought to
light the South's vulnerability to threats from the Northern regime. Northern
naval vessels have entered our waters in the West Sea on many occasions this
year, deepening the confrontation between the government and the opposition
camp over the interpretation of their actions. The incident is also expected to
fuel the conflict between conservatives and
progressives over the issue of the anti-
communist law. The ruling Uri Party triggered
the row with its move to abolish the security
law during the current regular session of the
National Assembly, which lasts until the middle
of December. At this time, with national unity
seriously disrupted, the government should
endeavor to keep security intact.
10-15-2004 18:53
[Media] [US Military dominance]
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Amnesty Backs Security Law Abolition
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
Rajiv Narayan, second from left, an East Asian
team researcher of Amnesty International, hands
over an official letter in support of scrapping
the National Security Law to Uri Party chairman
Lee Bu-young at the party headquarters in Seoul,
Thursday. Yonhap
Amnesty International gave support to the ruling
Uri Party's move to scrap the National Security
Law by expressing its strong disagreement with
the recent ruling of the Constitutional Court in
Seoul that the anti-communist law does not
excessively restrict human rights.
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Ministry Denies Report on Intrusion by NK
Submarines
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
The Defense Ministry on Thursday flatly denied a
news report that the South Korean Navy expelled
two North Korean submarines operating off the
South's southeastern coast.
``The military was not able to confirm the
existence of North Korean submarines during its
search-and-destroy mission on Sunday,'' ministry
spokesman Brig. Gen. Nam Dae-youn said at a news
conference. ``The Navy was ordered to conduct
the operation in line with standard procedure in
such cases.''
``The JoongAng Ilbo report on two North Korean
submarines' intrusion into South Korean waters
is totally wrong,'' Nam said. [Media]
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Kim positive on being envoy to Pyeongyang
Responding to the Uri Party's suggestion that he
become a special envoy to Pyeongyang, former
President Kim Dae-jung said yesterday, "I will
discuss it, if it helps the country."
Uri Party leaders met Mr. Kim yesterday in a
library named for him in Donggyo-dong, Seoul. A
day earlier, party chairman Lee Bu-young had
proposed that Mr. Kim and Grand National Party
leader Park Geun-hye visit Pyeongyang as the Roh
administration's "special envoys for peace,"
adding that he would talk to Mr. Kim the
following day.
Mr. Lee indirectly mentioned the issue yesterday
saying, "We are sorry that we bothered you with
the envoy problem," Mr. Kim said he would
consider the request if, by so doing, he could
assist the country. But he added, "What is
important is not the former president but the
incumbent president. Any agreement reached
between me and North Korea cannot be a binding
one."
Mr. Kim and the Uri leaders also talked about
the South Korea-U.S. relationship. "Regardless
of who becomes the president in the United
States, problems concerning the Korean Peninsula
will change fast after the election," Mr. Kim
told Uri leaders. "There are two things we have
to bear in mind. First, the United States is a
very important ally of ours. Second, we have to
be careful in how we persuade the United States
when it makes a decision that goes against the
public wishes of Koreans. Let the United States
understand that we are its friend, but have our
own principles."
[Friction] [PYR]
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Navy conducts anti-sub operation
South Korea's Defense Ministry said yesterday
its Navy vessels conducted a search-and-destroy
mission for North Korean submarines on Sunday.
The operation took place off the east coast of
the peninsula, following intelligence reports
that two objects appearing to be submarines had
been spotted.
After receiving the intelligence, the Navy
undertook an intense search involving a P-3C
surveillance airplane and Lynx anti-submarine
helicopters. Depth charges were dropped, but the
search proved unsuccessful.
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4 troops missing in mishap
Shortly after the South Korean Navy went hunting
a submarine Monday, four South Korean troops
were listed as missing at sea in a separate
incident.
The vessel that capsized was said to be a small
boat used for special forces missions.
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S. Korean Authorities Urged to Nullify Emergency
Plan
Pyongyang, October 12 (KCNA) -- The south Korean
authorities should disclose an "emergency plan
to cope with the suddenly changed situation",
declare it null and void and unconditionally
apologize to the DPRK, holding responsibility
for the grave impact the plan will have on the
inter-Korean relations. A spokesman for the
Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the
Fatherland urged this in an answer given to a
question put by KCNA Tuesday as regards the
emergency plan allegedly to cope with the
suddenly changed situation in the north, a very
provocative plan which has been brought to light
in south Korea recently.
It has been disclosed that the south Korean
authorities have steadily updated emergency
plans such as Chungmu 3300 and Chungmu 9000,
after working out them in secrecy in
anticipation of what they call the suddenly
changed situation in the north, the spokesman
said, and continued: It is the first time that
the south Korean authorities are reported to
have been watching for a chance after drafting a
concrete plan to cope with the suddenly changed
situation in the north.
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Four Missing in Naval Accident
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
A small South Korean vessel capsized and sank
off the nation's southeastern coast Tuesday
night, however the accident was not linked to a
possible intrusion by North Korean submarines,
the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
He was referring to a news report stating U.S.
military intelligence had advised South Korea on
Monday about two suspected North Korean
submarines operating in South Korean waters.
``It's true we received intelligence on the
submarines and the Navy quickly launched an
operation, but we were not able to confirm the
existence of extraordinary objects,'' Nam said.
The South Korean military sent its P-3C patrol
aircraft and anti-submarine LYNX helicopter to
the area in an unsuccessful operation that
included the dropping of anti-submarine bombs.
In September, 1996, a North Korean submarine
carrying 26 agents ran aground off the South's
eastern shore. Almost all of them were killed,
either by South Korean troops or their comrades,
in a mountain search operation that lasted
nearly two months.
[Intelligence] [US military dominance]
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Overview of
Intra-Korean Exchanges & Cooperation for
August 2004
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Kim, Park proposed as envoys to North
The leadership of the governing Uri Party and
the Roh administration proposed yesterday that
former President Kim Dae-jung and the Grand
National Party leader Park Geun-hye visit
Pyeongyang as "special envoys for peace."
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North flails Seoul plan to run the peninsula
North Korea condemned South Korea yesterday for
preparing contingency plans to take over the
North and accommodate a mass outflow of
refugees.
The North's Committee for the Peaceful
Unification of the Fatherland issued a statement
through the country's state-run Korea Central
News Agency. It demanded that Seoul scrap the
plans and apologize to the North.
The spokesman for the committee, which handles
South Korea affairs, said Seoul has been talking
about reconciliation and cooperation but is, in
cooperation with Washington, planning a
takeover.
The North flailed the Unification Ministry for
its role in the planning.
The existence of some sort of plans had been an
open secret, although no details were known
until a legislator discussed them last week.
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Uri Backs Kim Dae-jung as NK Envoy
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The leader of the ruling party on Tuesday expressed his support for appointing
former President Kim Dae-jung as a special envoy to North Korea in order to
seek a solution to the ongoing standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons
programs.
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NK Boat Briefly Crosses NLL
A North Korean patrol boat briefly entered South Korean waters off Sochong
Island in the West Sea at around noon, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said
Tuesday.
``The patrol boat went about 1.3 kilometers south of the Northern Limit Line
(NLL) at 12:15 p.m.,'' a JCS spokesperson said in a statement. ``After
capturing two Chinese ships, it returned to the northern side at around 12:28
p.m.''
About 10 Chinese ships were operating near Sochong Island, watched by the South
Korean Navy, when the North Korean boat crossed the NLL, the official said.
A de facto inter-Korean sea border, the NLL has been a constant source of
conflict between the rival Koreas in recent years. Navy ships from the two
sides clashed in 1999 and 2002, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.
yoonwonsup@koreatimes.co.kr
10-12-2004 19:54
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Uri Chairman Supports DJ as NK Envoy
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The leader of the ruling party on Tuesday
expressed his support for appointing former
President Kim Dae-jung as a special envoy to
North Korea in order to seek a solution to the
ongoing standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear
weapons programs.
During a forum for journalists held at the Seoul
Press Center, Uri Party chairman Lee Bu-young
said his party is considering a plan to send
special peace envoys to North Korea and the four
major powers surrounding the Korean peninsula in
an effort to find a breakthrough in the two-year-
long nuclear deadlock.
``The former president has expressed his
willingness to contribute to maintaining peace
on the Korean peninsula, worrying over the
possible uncertainty that might unfold after the
U.S. presidential election next month
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5-years in prison given to former leader's aide
Upholding lower court rulings, the Supreme Court yesterday confirmed a five-year prison term handed down to Kwon Roh-kap, a senior aide of former President Kim Dae-jung.
At its final hearing, the Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Kwon was guilty of receiving 20 billion won ($17 million) from Hyundai Merchant Marine before the legislative elections in April 2000. Chung Mong-hun, then Hyundai Group chairman, paid Mr. Kwon the money in return for administration help in its North Korean businesses, the prosecution had charged.
Mr. Chung at the time wanted Seoul's permission to operate a casino and duty free shops at the Mount Geumgang resort in North Korea, the prosecution said in its indictment. Mr. Chung committed suicide in August 2003 during investigations of his involvement in the "cash for summit" scandal surrounding the inter-Korean summit in 2000.
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3 Universities Favored Students From Kangnam
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
Yonsei University, Korea University and Ewha Woman's University on Friday came under criticism after the government confirmed the institutions had given extra points to graduates of some high schools in southern Seoul when selecting applicants.
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Two Koreas Resume Military Talks
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
After a three-month lull in inter-Korean talks,
military officers from South and North met
Thursday to discuss rail and road links between
the two nations, the Defense Ministry said.
Lieutenant colonels from the two sides discussed
ways to improve overland routes to an industrial
park being built in North Korea's border town of
Kaesong in the west and a scenic resort at Mt.
Kumgang in the east.
In a major setback to relations, North Korea in
recent months has cancelled two scheduled
maritime and military contacts with South Korea
to protest Seoul's refusal to let some of its
citizens visit the communist country to mourn
the 10th anniversary of leader Kim Il-sung's
death.
Seoul-Pyongyang relations hit a snag in mid-July
when the two Koreas disputed details of a border
incident in which South Korean navy boats fired
warning shots to turn back a suspected northern
vessel that it alleged intruded into southern
waters in the West Sea.
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Ex-President Hints at NK Envoy Role
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
Former President Kim Dae-jung expressed his
willingness to assume an active role in
resolving the ongoing nuclear standoff over
North Korea's nuclear programs, drawing renewed
speculation that he will be appointed as special
envoy to the communist nation.
During an interview with a local daily, the
former head of state said he will seek ways to
help the government resolve the nuclear crisis
even though he no longer has an official role in
the administration.
``I think I should play a supporting role and
keep a low profile, although I may have to go
(to North Korea),'' Kim told the Kyunghyang
Shinmun.
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Opposition, Uri go to war in brouhaha over
'secrets'
The governing Uri Party charged opposition
lawmakers yesterday with revealing state secrets
about risks in a military confrontation with
North Korea and about what the South would do if
the regime in Pyeongyang lost its control.
Uri Party leaders said that Grand Nationals'
disclosure of such national secrets as a North
Korean attack scenario and Seoul's contingency
plan against North Korean collapse are breaches
of security. The opposition countered that the
governing party is simply interfering with their
pursuit of Assembly affairs.
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Booklet Outlines Terrorist Profile
By Lee Jin-woo
Staff Reporter
The nation's spy agency has distributed booklets
in order to help the public
detect terrorist suspects at major public facilities, especially airports and
train stations.
According to the Korean-language pamphlet titled ``How to Detect Terrorist
Suspects'', distributed by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) at major
public areas, including Incheon International Airport, Wednesday, those who
attempt a terror attack tend to show certain characteristics.
The booklet mentions a number of things members of the public should watch out
for.
For example, terrorist suspects often leave a restroom hurriedly after leaving
a backpack or a plastic bag behind, and a person paying with cash is more
likely to be a terrorist suspect than a credit card user since terrorists try
not to leave any traceable evidence, the pamphlet says.
Terrorist suspects often do not order alcoholic beverages at bars or other
similar entertainment spots or order a drink but do not drink it. They also
have a tendency to sit in the corner, carefully watching others.
Regarding the appearance of terrorists, the booklet highlights those who have a
pot belly or who wear thick clothing despite warm weather and sweat a lot as
targets who should be carefully monitored because suicide bombers often wear
explosives around their bellies hidden under thick clothes.
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Defense gurus downplay risk of North's guns
Defense officials and military experts yesterday
dismissed a conservative lawmaker's claim that
without U.S. forces to prevent it, South Korea's
capital would quickly fall in a North Korean
artillery barrage.
During a National Assembly hearing Monday, Grand
National Party Representative Park Jin quoted a
report by the state-run Korea Institute for
Defense Analyses that said Seoul would be
overwhelmed by North Korea within 16 days
without U.S. help.
[Military balance]
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S. Korean Authorities' Scheme to Register DMZ as
World's Heritage Lambasted
Pyongyang, October 5 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for
the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of
the Fatherland in a statement Monday condemned
the scheme of the south Korean authorities to
register the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) along the
Military Demarcation Line as a world's heritage
and open it to international tourism, branding
it as a vicious challenge to the aspiration and
desire of all the fellow countrymen for the
reunification of the country and an anti-
national folly to perpetuate the division of the
nation. It is a behavior bereft of common sense
to register as a "heritage" the DMZ which is
symbolic of misfortunes and sufferings of
national division and along which the north and
the south are standing in acute military
confrontation, the spokesman said, and went on:
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South Korea's Arms Buildup under Fire
Pyongyang, October 5 (KCNA) -- The Secretariat of the Committee for the
Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland Monday issued information bulletin No.
886 assailing the south Korean authorities' recent decision to increase the
"defense budget" for next year 9.9 percent over this year's.
[Military balance]
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S. Korea's Much Fuss about DPRK's Import of
Sodium Cyanide under Fire
Pyongyang, October 5 (KCNA) -- The south Korean
authorities are kicking up much fuss, asserting
that the north illegally imported sodium cyanide
which their enterprises had produced and
exported to several countries in Asia. This can
not but be an anti-national act shocking and
infuriating the north [Sanctions]
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Dispute over N. Korea military briefly halts Assembly audit
Rival lawmakers' heated debate over North Korea's military capabilities briefly suspended the National Assembly's second-day inspection of the Defense Ministry yesterday.
The dispute started after ruling party lawmaker Ahn Young-geun demanded opposition lawmaker Park Jin stay out of the auditing process.
Ahn accused Park of leaking Monday to the press that the alleged nation's defense confidential said that Seoul would fall to North Korea within 15 days from the outbreak of a war with the communist state, if South Korea has to defend itself without U.S. troops.
[Military balance]
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Plan to cope with fall of North divulged
An opposition lawmaker disclosed details
yesterday of South Korean plans for coping with
the possible collapse of the North Korean regime
and for handling a mass defection from the
communist state, including a contingency for
dealing with insurrection.
The plans, revealed by Grand National Party
Representative Chung Moon-hun at a National
Assembly hearing, are the first significant look
at the government's readiness in case the
leaders in Pyeongyang lose control over their
country and the South is forced to step in.
Mr. Chung's office said the details have been
kept classified, but the Unification Ministry,
seeking to assure the public, provided selective
details. Under the plan, code-named "Chungmu
9000," South Korea will establish an emergency
administrative headquarters in the North, which
will work to liberalize the economy and society.
South Korea's unification minister will head the
agency with powers greater than a governor.
Unification Ministry staff will be deployed to
operate the organization, and officials from
other ministries will follow to take systemic
authority in the North.
Another plan, called "Chungmu 3300," details
Seoul's preparation for any mass defection and
includes contingencies for a possible civil war.
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100.000 Conservatives demonstrate
A crowd, estimated at 100,000 and made up of
conservatives and Christians, massed yesterday
in front of Seoul City Hall to denounce North
Korea and voice opposition to government efforts
to abolish the National Security Law [photo]
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Claim Over History Textbook Causes Stir
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development is up in arms over a
claim by a Grand National Party lawmaker that a high school history textbook
contains left-leaning and anti-American contents.
During an inspection of the ministry on Monday, Kwon Chul-hyun, a lawmaker of
the conservative GNP, claimed that a history textbook published by Kumsung
Publishing Co. for teaching Korea's modern history in high schools is
anti-American, pro-North Korean and anti-chaebol.
Education Minister Ahn Byung-young said the ministry would take steps to revise
history textbooks where necessary.
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120,000-strong rally expected here today
About 120,000 members of the conservative
religious and veterans groups will gather in
front of Seoul City Hall this afternoon,
organizers said, to oppose the repeal of the
National Security Law.
At 3:30 p.m., the Christian Council of Korea
said, 70,000 members of the group will rally to
pray for Korea and the retention of the law.
Two hours later, a veterans association and anti-
North Korea groups said, 50,000 protesters would
join the religious group at the rally.
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3 of 4 defectors here on welfare, data say
More than 77 percent of the North Koreans who
have defected to the South receive minimum
standard of living allowances from the
government, according to Unification Ministry
data sent to the National Assembly.
Of the 4,747 defectors currently living here,
3,672 get the allowance, according to the data
from the ministry.
Nearly 2,700 of the North Koreans on the welfare
rolls are capable of working, the ministry said.
But it added that only 39 were enrolled in
employment programs run by the Health and
Welfare Ministry.
[Refugee reception]
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Seoul to Seek Summit With Pyongyang: Chung
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
South Korea will push for an inter-Korean summit
to resolve the prolonged standoff over North
Korea's nuclear ambitions, Unification Minister
Chung Dong-young said Monday.
On the first day of the National Assembly's 20-
day audit session, Chung said he would make
efforts to bring about a second inter-Korean
meeting to break the current deadlock in
bilateral ties.
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Korea Needs Overseas PR Overhaul
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun is making great efforts
to accomplish his administration¡¯s vision of
building South Korea into the economic hub of
Northeast Asia with a series of upcoming
overseas ``sales diplomacy¡¯¡¯ tours.
But according to government officials in charge
of promoting the nation¡¯s international
profile, Roh¡¯s photo opportunities with foreign
leaders won¡¯t achieve much in the long-term
unless he chooses to invest more in providing
information about South Korea to the
international community.
The official also expressed concerns that many
foreign media outlets still paint only a
negative picture of South Korea, highlighting
issues relating to the ongoing nuclear standoff
with North Korea and labor strikes, mainly due
to a lack activities promoting the nation.
[Image]
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New Aspect of Defector Issue
Seoul Should Take More Fundamental Approach
The intrusion by 43 North Korean asylum-seekers
into the Canadian embassy in Beijing on
Wednesday heralds a new phase in the issue of
defectors. The Chinese government, which has
previously overlooked North Koreans breaking
into foreign embassies, is asking Canada to hand
over the intruders. On Monday, Chinese police
actually took custody of nine defectors who had
sought asylum in an American school in Shanghai.
Beijing's hardened policy resulting from the
changed environment surrounding defectors is
likely to lead to new factors in the issue.
Needless to say, the single biggest factor in
the latest developments involving North Korean
refugees is the U.S. bill aimed at protecting
human rights in the communist country.
Pyongyang, which had maintained a ``go-if-you-
want'' stance on defectors until recently, has
began to tighten the exit routes, fearing the
North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 will
trigger a mass exodus which might lead to the
crumbling of the isolationist regime. For
Beijing, too, the U.S. bill, and the possible
onrush of North Koreans, comes as a major
headache not just because of its alliance with
Pyongyang but also because of its own internal
instability and human rights problems.
As some officials here have said, the U.S. bill,
apparently aimed at the collapse of North Korea,
needs some fine-tuning to harmonize with the
``soft landing'' policy of Seoul, which cannot
handle any event similar to the fall of Berlin
Wall on the Korean peninsula. Assuming
Washington follows the hardliners' lead in
pushing the human rights issue as one of two
means for pressing the reclusive regime, along
with Pyongyang's nuclear programs, a fierce and
complicated diplomatic war of nerves will take
place not only between the two Koreas but also
between China and the United States.
[Refugee reception] [Friction] [Camouflage]
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Roh calls on country to lead its own defense
Speaking at ceremonies to mark the 56th
anniversary of South Korea's Armed Forces Day,
President Roh Moo-hyun said the country should
prepare to lead in its own defense against North
Korea.
"If we have confidence in our capabilities and
gradually build up what is necessary for our
defense, we will be able to lead in deterring
North Korean aggression," Mr. Roh said at
Gyeryongdae, a combined Army, Air Force and Navy
base in South Chungcheong province.
"We have to make focused efforts to have an
independent defense capability to protect our
national security," Mr. Roh said.
The president did not clearly define what he
meant by "independent defense," but he outlined
his vision for the Korean military. "We should
aim to have a capability to carry out
independent military strategies, enhanced
intelligence, elite soldiers and officers and
cutting edge technologies."
The Korean military does not have the right to
pursue an independent military strategy in war
time.
[US military dominance]
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Roh Vows to Reform Military
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun pledged to actively
pursue restructuring the military so it can play
a leading role in the national defense with the
support of a strong alliance with the United
States.
``The military itself should firmly conduct
reforms,'' Roh said, stressing professionalism
and civil control in the military structure in a
ceremony held at Army headquarters in South
Chungchong Province to commemorate the 56th
anniversary of Armed Forces Day Friday.
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Abolish "National Security Law"!
North and South Korean People Call For Abolition of Unjust Law
The "National Security Law" is an unjust law of South Korea which is one of the
hindrances to the reunification of Korea. The DPRK has been opposed to the
"law," which still exists in South Korea, especially after the announcement of
the June 15 Joint Declaration. South Korean people are also opposed to the
"National Security Law," and recently voices demanding the abolition of the
"National Security Law" have been getting widespread more and more. In such a
situation, the South Korean political world except the right-wing conservative
party has begun to demand the abolition of the "law."
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YS to Lead Defectors' Broadcasting
Former President Kim Young-sam has become an
honorary chairman of the committee for an
Internet broadcasting service established and
run by North Korean defectors.
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Seoul Delegation Won't Visit NK
A South Korean delegation will not be able to
attend inter-Korean festivities marking the
National Foundation Day to be held in Pyongyang
this year, according to an official Thursday.
``Yesterday we received a message from the
preparation committee in the North saying it
will be difficult to invite the delegation from
the South under the current situation,'' the
official at the preparation committee in the
South said.
While celebrating separately, both parties
nevertheless agreed to issue a joint statement
soliciting a peaceful unification, the official
added.
The two Koreas have so far held two joint
celebrations, including last year's in
Pyongyang.
One of the few holidays observed by both Koreas,
National Foundation Day, or Kaechonjol, marks
the foundation of ancient Korean in 2333 B.C. by
the nation's legendary founder Tangun.
09-30-2004 17:27
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Seoul Ready to Accept Defectors
By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
Forty-four North Koreans, who entered the
Canadian Embassy in Beijing Wednesday in an
apparent bid to seek asylum, will likely be
transported to South Korea as they wish,
according to government officials.
Meanwhile, as the United States Senate approved
a bill Tuesday aimed at improving the human
rights situation in North Korea, speculation has
surfaced that the latest defectors may be
transferred to the U.S.
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Navy Succeeds in Test-Firing Lightweight Torpedo
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
South Korea has succeeded in test firing a
lightweight torpedo, boosting its naval anti-
submarine combat capability, a defense institute
said Thursday.
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Major Military Scandals Under Probe
By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter
The Defense Ministry said Thursday its fact-
finding panel is considering delving into a
spate of military scandals that had long been
veiled in secrecy during the past iron-fisted
regimes.
[Unit 684]
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