ROK and Inter-Korean relations December 2004

ROK and Inter-Korean relations

December 2004

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North says defector has come from South
December 30, 2004 ? The U.S. 8th Army confirmed yesterday that a South Korean, Kim Ki-ho, 59, who North Korea on Tuesday said had defected to the North, worked at the U.S. 6th Ordnance Battalion from 1984 to 2003 as a quality assurance specialist. A South Korean intelligence official said the North provided detailed background information on defectors to provide credibility to their claims. North Korea cited Mr. Kim's work records and personal information such as birth place to back its statement.
S. Korean Defects to North
Pyongyang, December 29 (KCNA) -- A south Korean Kim Ki Ho, who was serving as head of the inspection section under the 6th ordnance battalion of the U.S. 8th Army Command in south Korea, defected to the northern half of Korea shortly ago when southerners' yearning for the man-centered Korean-style socialism was growing more fervent
New Year Won't Bring North Korean Capitulation: Experts
By Reuben Staines, Park Song-wu Staff Reporters When intelligence officials in Seoul detected a suspicious mushroom-shaped cloud over North Korea's Ryanggang Province on Sept. 9, many observers predicted a storm was brewing. Over the following week, all sorts of theories were thrown around to explain the phenomenon, from a nuclear test or failed missile launch to anti-establishment insurgency or an explosion at an underground weapons bunker. Finally, however, after days spent gazing at satellite photos, South Korean officials concluded that the cloud was indeed, just that, a cloud. This was the story of 2004 for North Korea: rampant rumors but little tangible evidence of change. Specifically, the past 12 months has seen the revival of speculation that the communist state is on the verge of collapse. Pressured from all sides to give up its nuclear programs, struggling for stability as economic reforms take hold and targeted by U.S. human rights legislation, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il must surely be on his way out, the argument goes. But if Kim were to sit down this evening to think through his New Year's resolutions for 2005, experts in Seoul believe he would not be planning a dramatic policy reversal or capitulation. [Collapse]
Majority Support Seoul's Policies on Pyongyang
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Five out of 10 South Koreans think the government is doing well in its North Korea policies and six out of 10 have intentions to buy goods made in Kaesong, a joint industrial park just above the demilitarized zone, the Unification Ministry said Thursday, citing a recently conducted survey. Fifty percent of 1,500 people over 20 years old, who answered the telephone survey from Dec. 22 to 23, approved the government's North Korea policies, up 15.6 percent from a previous survey conducted in February. ``People are putting their credence on the government's economic cooperation policies with the North, including the construction of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, even though the cross-border government-level talks have been stalled and the six-nation nuclear talks are not showing progress,'' the ministry said in a press release. Those critical of the government's North Korea policies have been reduced from 57.2 percent in February to 42.6 percent in December. On the products made in Kaesong, where two South Korean companies are currently making goods by using the North's cheap manpower, 64.2 percent of respondents said they are willing to buy them, while 34.2 percent said they will not spend their money on North Korean products. [SK attitude NK]
North lashes South over talks stalemate
December 29, 2004 ? Blaming the Roh administration for frozen inter-Korean relations, North Korea demanded an apology yesterday from South Korea for creating the current stalemate. The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, a North Korean body handling propaganda affairs, issued a statement summarizing relations with the Roh administration. The committee claimed that the South has pursued anti-unification activities over the past two years. It singled out the Unification Ministry's decision in July not to allow South Korean visitors to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the death of Kim Il Sung, the founder of the communist country. Despite the political freeze, inter-Korean economic projects and South Korea's shipment of aid have continued.
Roh Replaces Chief Police Officer, Deputy Directors of NIS
By Shim Jae-yun Staff Reporter President Roh Moo-hyun on Wednesday promoted Huh Joon-young, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, to head the National Police Agency (NPA), Chong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Jong- min said.
Choi Joon-take, who had long served at the NIS, will assume the post of third deputy director for North Korean issues. Chong Wa Dae officials said the replacement of the key NIS officials shows Roh's firm determination to focus on finding breakthrough and peaceful resolution of the continuing impasse over North Korea's nuclear drive. ``Given Suh and Cho are well acquainted with foreign affairs and security issues, they are expected play key roles in smoothly dealing with North Korean issues, in particular,'' an official said. Suh served as deputy chief of South Korea's permanent mission to the United Nations in New York, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry and director general of the ministry's Bureau for International Organizations. Choi has been regarded as an expert in North Korea affairs as he has dealt with the matter over the past 30 years.
Roh welcomes summit any time, any place
December 27, 2004 ? President Roh Moo-hyun said yesterday that he hopes for a second summit between North and South Korea, and senior government officials seemed to be suggesting that one could take place next year. "If an inter-Korean summit is possible, I would accept it regardless of time and place," Mr. Roh said in an interview with Kyung Hyang Shinmun, a daily newspaper. "If possible, I would like to promote the summit." Previously, Mr. Roh had said he thought such a summit would be impossible while the six-party talks to resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff were still underway. A senior government official who asked for anonymity said yesterday, "I think what Mr. Roh said meant that if some visible results occur from the six-party talks in the first half of 2005, there will be a possibility to promote a second inter-Korean summit that year, celebrating the five-year anniversary of the June 15 inter-Korean summit." "I think now the United States will make a more flexible effort to solve the North Korean nuclear problem," said Kwon Chin-ho, President Roh's advisor for national security. "Something good will take place next year." [Friction]
Roh Ready to Meet NK Leader Anytime, Anywhere
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter President Roh Moo-hyun expressed his willingness to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in a summit ``anytime, anywhere,'' if only it was possible. ``I'm not reluctant to have a summit. I just said I think that it is unlikely,'' he said in an interview with the KyungHyang Shinmun, a local newspaper, released in its Monday edition. ``If it was possible, I would not care about the timing or venue.'' Roh once again stressed South Korea's ``leading role'' in the six-party nuclear talks aimed at finding a peaceful resolution to the North Korean nuclear standoff, calling it a problem which involves ``our vital interests.'' ``If it is so vital to us, we should be able to affect North Korea's decision as well as the United States','' he said. ``We cannot simply be onlookers.'' [Friction]
Pyongyang Denies Invasion Plan
By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter In an unusual move, North Korean leader Kim Jong- il has denied any plan to invade the South and instead claims it is South Korea which is plotting to invade the North, a North Korean report said Saturday. ``Great Leader Kim Jong-il said there is groundless speculation in South Korea about a southward invasion threat by North Korea and that the real threat exists in a northward invasion by South Korea,'' Radio Pyongyang reported. Although North Korea often hinted at the possibility of a northern invasion and rebuffed suggestions of a southern invasion, such remarks have rarely come directly from Kim's mouth. The state-run broadcaster aired Kim's remarks in a commentary, denouncing the South's plan to increase its self-reliant defense capabilities. But it did not provide any background, including when and where Kim made the comments. Radio Pyongyang further claimed the South's plan to develop its self-defense posture came as part of its plan to prepare for a war against the North in alliance with the United States. [military balance]
Seoul to Monitor Brokers Hired to Aid North Korean Defectors
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: December 26, 2004 EOUL, South Korea, Dec. 25 (AP) - South Korea says it plans to crack down on people who demand money for organizing mass defections of North Koreans desperate to leave their country. But human rights groups worry that the move is aimed at appeasing North Korea and China - North Korea's last major ally and the way-station for many North Korean intending to defect.
These so-called brokers - often ethnic Koreans in China, South Korean entrepreneurs or North Korean defectors in the South - select defectors from the tens of thousands of North Koreans who flee North Korea and hide in northeastern China. They then help the North Koreans to force their way into foreign embassies in Beijing and other Asian capitals, in the hopes that they will eventually be allowed to travel to South Korea. Nearly 83 percent of the 1,850 North Koreans who reached South Korea this year came with the help of these brokers, who received an average of $3,800 per person, South Korea's Unification Ministry said. [Refugee reception]
Report: N. Korea Won't Invade S. Korea
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: December 25, 2004 Filed at 5:40 a.m. ET SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il has said his communist country has no intention of invading the South, an official North Korean news report said Saturday. The North's media have often said a second Korean war would not be triggered by North Korean provocation but by an attack from the South. Nonetheless, it's highly unusual for them to attribute such a statement to Kim, said South Korea's official news agency, Yonhap, which monitors the North's media. ``Greater Leader Kim Jong Il has pointed out that in the South today, there is a fuss over the non-existing threat of invasion from the North. But in reality, the only existing threat of invasion is not from the North but from the South,'' said North Korea's state-run Pyongyang Radio. Pyongyang Radio relayed Kim's comment at the head of its commentary accusing the South of an arms buildup. Yonhap carried the excerpts of the commentary.
Defectors to get less money, closer scrutiny
December 24, 2004 ? Reacting to the recent surge in the number of North Koreans seeking asylum here, the government announced yesterday that it will tighten its screening process for defectors and cut back significantly on the amount of financial aid they receive. At a press briefing, Vice Minister of Unification Rhee Bong-jo said that beginning in January, the amount of settlement funds to which defectors are entitled will be reduced from 28 million won ($27,000) to 10 million won per person. He said defectors will have the option of applying for additional aid for job training and study programs. "We believe that finding a stable job is a much better solution for a defector to settle down in the South than giving them money upon their arrival," Mr. Rhee said. But he said the policy change "is also to stop the money from going to brokers." Most defectors to the South are aided by brokers in China and other third countries, who demand a cut of the financial aid the defectors eventually receive in return for arranging passage and safe houses. According to the Unification Ministry, about 83 percent of North Korean defectors who have arrived in the South this year ? a total of 1,637 as of October ?_were aided by brokers, who on average received 4 million won per defector. [Refugee reception]
Uri to Back Down Security Law
By Jung Sung-ki, Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporters The ruling Uri Party on Friday showed signs of backing down from its current position to scrap the controversial National Security Law within this year, raising the cautious expectation of forging a compromise on major reform bills with the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) in the ongoing ``four-way'' leadership talks.
GNP's Unification Formula Offers Few New Alternatives
By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter Suggesting a vision is always a daunting task, especially when the object of the vision not only staunchly refuses to be steered but also offers barely anything to be built upon. Rep. Park Jin of the Grand National Party (GNP) and members of the Youido Institute, the official think tank of the main opposition party, might have felt the difficulty when they held an ambitious public forum on their vision for policies regarding North Korea, dubbed ``The Way to an Advanced Unification,'' at the National Assembly Memorial Hall on Tuesday.
NK Defectors Face Stricter Screening
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter South Korea will intensify screening of North Korean defectors at its diplomatic missions abroad to thwart criminals' entry and false defections, the Ministry of Unification said Thursday. ``From next year, we will fortify the screening procedure to weed out murderers, criminals sought by international police and people disguising themselves as asylum seekers,'' Vice Unification Minister Rhee Bong-jo said at a news conference. ``Even after their entry, those with criminal records will be punished according to domestic law.'' Seoul's strengthened measures will require diplomatic missions to carry out thorough background checks on all asylum seekers. ``It will not be easy to secure evidence because they will have to depend on the statements (of each defector),'' Rhee said. ``But I think these measures could have a deterrent effect.'' The ministry said 10.7 percent of the 1,866 North Korean defectors who entered South Korea this year had criminal records. During the first six months of this year, 40 fraudulent defections have been detected _ 24 ethnic Koreans from China who disguised themselves as North Korean defectors to come to South Korea and 16 North Koreans who posed as Korean-Chinese. [refugee reception]
Two Koreas to Issue Joint Postage Stamps
By Na Jeong-ju Staff Reporter South Korea is seeking to issue postal stamps jointly with North Korea next year in an effort to promote inter-Korean conciliation, the postal service agency said Thursday. Korea Post said it has submitted the plan to the Unification Ministry and the National Intelligence Service for cooperation. The Unification Ministry may contact North Korea early next year to clear the way for the issuance after holding discussions with related South Korean officials over technological problems, the agency said. ``The year 2005 is meaningful for both South and North Korea. Next year will see the 50th anniversary of the inter-Korean summit meeting on June 15 and the 60th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's colonial rule on Aug. 15,'' a Korea Post official said.
Cartoons to Explain Inter-Korean Affairs
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Characters of popular Korean cartoon 'Baby Dinosaur Dooly' sing the famous song 'We Wish for Unification' in this comic strip. / Courtesy of Unification Ministry The Unification Ministry introduces a new Internet service today using famous cartoon characters, such as Baby Dinosaur Dooly, to enhance young people's understanding of the inter-Korean affairs, including the necessity of reintegrating the divided peninsula, ministry officials said Wednesday. ``Youngsters are actually losing interest in those seemingly big and boring subjects,'' a ministry official said. ``I hope these cute characters can help them easily understand the unification issues.'' The ministry also plans to conduct a two-day road show marking the beginning of the Internet service at 10 places frequented by young people, such as Taehangno and Sinchon in Seoul, to explain why the reunification is necessary to the generations who did not experience the 1950-53 Korean War. A survey canvassing 1,000 South Korean teenagers by the Advisory Council on Democratic and Peaceful Unification in September showed that 37.7 percent of them hope to maintain the status quo or disapprove of the efforts to reintegrate the peninsula.
Defector says Kim alive in North
December 22, 2004 ? A North Korean defector said yesterday a South Korean pastor is likely alive and in custody of the North Korean government, contradicting claims earlier this week by a National Assembly lawmaker. In an exclusive interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, the North Korean defector said that he met with Kim Dong-shik before he defected to the South. "I met with Mr. Kim on Jan. 27, 2000, at a detention center in North Hamgyeong province," said the defector, who requested anonymity. "In July 2002, I was told by a senior official of the State Safety and Security Agency of North Korea that Mr. Kim was detained in Pyeongyang."
Movie About President Park Stirs Up Controversy
By Kim Tae-jong Staff Reporter A feature film about the assassination of President Park Chung-hee in the late 1970s is currently in post-production and is expected to be released in February. KangJeGyu & Myung Film began shooting ``Kuddae Ku Saramdul (People at That Time)'' in September. The film, based on Park's assassination on Oct. 26, 1979, is expected to stir up controversy prior to its release as there are numerous conflicting opinions about what actually happened.
Although the assassination triggered a turning point in modern Korean history, politicians have been reluctant to discuss it. Virtually no historic evaluation has been made concerning the former KCIA chief, which has resulted in numerous conspiracy theories regarding the assassination and his execution. Several civic groups have argued that Kim should be regarded as a hero since he helped the democratization of the country by ending Park's 18-year-long military dictatorship. A larger number of people, especially conservatives who supported the late president's policies, disagree and call Kim nothing more than a murderer.
Civic Group Wants Clarification Over Jin Kyung-sook Case
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter The South Korean government should check the validity of China's argument that Jin Kyung-sook, a female North Korean defector who resettled in South Korea, was caught in the North's territory, not abducted by North Korean agents in China, a civic group in Seoul said Tuesday.
Activists Rally to Support NK Defectors
By Reuben Staines Staff Reporter South Korean activists will join human rights groups in six countries around the world today in a synchronized rally calling on China to stop the forced repatriation of North Korean refugees, organizers said Tuesday. More than 500 defectors, students and church members are expected to gather in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul at 11 a.m. to express their concerns over the repatriations, according to Abraham Lee, head of Refuge Pnan, one of 12 participating South Korean groups.
Ex-residents of North protest legal changes
December 21, 2004 ? A group of former North Koreans from the Korean War era is protesting a government plan to revise a decades-old law that covers the administration of the five provinces of North Korea and supports anti-communist propaganda. The group of ex-North Korean residents, the Central Association of Five Provinces, started a signature drive yesterday to halt the Administration Ministry's plan to revise the special law on the provinces of North Korea. The association said it would send petitions to the Blue House and the National Assembly. The law, established in 1962, specifies how to appoint acting governors of the North Korean provinces of Hwanghae, South and North Pyeongan, and South and North Hamgyeong. It also defines the roles of the acting governors and officials of the provinces, which include promoting anti- communist propaganda, collecting information on the provinces, and researching policy measures in advance of a South Korean reclamation of the land. Under South Korea's constitution, the five northern provinces are considered to belong to South Korea.
Opposition Lawmaker Calls for Engagement With NK
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Rep. Park Jin of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) on Monday proposed the six-party talks over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions expand its role as peace manager for the Korean peninsula in future. ``After solving the nuclear problems, I think we need to change the role of the multilateral talks into an international organization, a `peace manager' that can help the North Korean economy recover,'' Park told The Korea Times. Park's remarks came while explaining a set of draft policies on North Korea, which he and a GNP think tank have jointly produced to counter the ruling camp's ``sunshine'' policy of engaging the Pyongyang regime. ``I think the new organization will basically function as a guarantor of peace on the peninsula, but after the nuclear concern is cleared, it could pick up another role of helping the North's economic transformation, first by providing energy and electricity,'' he said.
Total Repeal of NSL Demanded by Koreans in U.S.
Pyongyang, December 18 (KCNA) -- The Federation of Koreans in the U.S., the Federation for Independence, Democracy and Reunification in America, the Overseas Headquarters of the Joint Secretariat of the Nationwide Special Committee for Probing the Truth behind the GIs' Massacres, a forum for Korea's reunification and other Koreans' organizations in the U.S. reportedly made public a joint statement on Dec. 4 demanding the total abolition of the "National Security Law (NSL)" in south Korea
Korea May Lose 'Drug-Free' Status
International Drug Rings Allegedly Use the Country as Trafficking Base By Moon Gwang-lip Staff Reporter South Korea has been recognized as a ``drug-free'' nation in the international community, thanks to its efforts to keep illegal substances out of the country since 1989. Different types of drugs are on display at the headquarters of the Seoul Metropolitan Policy Agency in central Seoul on Dec. 10. The anti-narcotics team of the agency seized the drugs, which were smuggled into the country by mail. / Yonhap Narcotics experts, however, have expressed concern that the nation might be deprived of the honor before long. According to statistics, only 16 out of every 100,000 South Koreans were arrested on drug-related charges last year, far lower than 572 out of every 100,000 Americans in 2000. Comparable figures stood at 411 in Australia, and 353 in Thailand in 2001 and 220 in Britain in 1998. But the number of those arrested for drug-related violations increased from 6,947 in 1997 to 8,350 in 1998 and 10,589 in 1999, according to the Supreme Public Prosecutors' Office. The number stood at 10,304 in 2000, 10,102 in 2001 and 10,673 in 2002. Although the number declined to 7,546 in 2003 and 6,529 in the first 10 months of this year, experts say the country should remain alert. They claimed that the drop was simply due to the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which prompted drug dealers across Asia to reduce their operations during the period, the report said. Even experts say the number of those arrested stands at less than 5 percent of the real number of drug users in Korea.
Seoul vows effort to free activist pastor
December 16, 2004 ? Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon promised yesterday that South Korea would take steps to secure the freedom of a Protestant minister who is believed to have been abducted in 2000 to North Korea. Civic organizations and opposition politicians, meanwhile, urged the government to take a tougher stance toward Pyeongyang on abduction issues.
Seoul Urges Pyongyang to Resume Talks
By Kim Tae-gyu, Park Song-wu Staff Reporters KAESONG - Celebrating the first production of goods in the Kaesong Industrial Complex, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young on Wednesday urged North Korea to resume government-level talks, which have been suspended for six months.
Man in custody for kidnapping cleric to North
December 15, 2004 ? An alleged North Korean agent has confessed to having played a role in the kidnapping four years ago of a South Korean religious leader in China, prosecutors announced yesterday. The man was taken into custody in South Korea earlier this month. The Seoul Central Public Prosecutors Office said a 34-year-old Korean-Chinese is being held on charges he participated in the abduction of Reverend Kim Dong-shik, who disappeared while doing missionary work in China.
. Uri Calls for Probe of Rights Abuse Cases Under Previous Governments
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The ruling Uri Party on Monday called for a comprehensive parliamentary probe into several cases of human rights abuses including torture and the manipulation of information by the nation's intelligence agency under previous authoritarian governments. The party said it would set up an information center for victims of torture during the period when the predecessor of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) was the governing party.
Government Urged to Press for Release of Kidnapped Pastor
By Reuben Staines, Park Song-wu Staff Reporters The opposition Grand National Party (GNP) on Tuesday urged the government to press Pyongyang for the release of South Korean pastor Kim Dong- shik, who was abducted by North Korean agents in China more than four years ago. ``The Unification Ministry and other related government offices should actively try to confirm whether he is dead or alive, and seek the repatriation of all South Koreans who have been abducted by the North,'' Rep. Park Kye-dong of the GNP told The Korea Times.
Opposition Lawmakers, Journalists Sued for Libel Over Spy Claims
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter The ruling Uri Party on Sunday launched defamation suits against three opposition lawmakers, including Joo Sung-young, accusing them of making false allegations that one of its legislators, Lee Chul-woo, was acting as a North Korean spy. The governing party also filed similar criminal suits against the publisher and a reporter of the weekly ``Mirae Hankuk (Future of Korea),'' which ignited the dispute by reporting that Lee joined North Korea's ruling Workers' Party in 1992.
Government to Ease Restrictions on Travel to North Korea
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter South Korean civilians wanting to travel to North Korea will likely see less difficulty in getting government approval to visit the communist nation next year, according to officials Saturday. The government is considering easing the requirements for cross-border travel in preparation for an expected boom in the inter-Korean human exchanges next year, the fifth anniversary of the historic first summit between the two Koreas, the officials said.
North Korea to Create Committee for Inter-Korean Summit Anniversary
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter North Korea will establish a preparatory committee composed of representatives from political parties and organizations to meet the pledges of the historic inter-Korean summit in 2000, the Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korean paper based in Japan, reported Sunday
Helping Improve Credibility of North Korea
The BBC news Wednesday reported of President Roh Moo-hyun's surprising visit to South Korean troops deployed in Iraq. Mentioning the size of deployment, the largest after the United States and Britain, the news observed this as part of South Korea's efforts to strengthen its relations with the U.S. ``to counterbalance the threat from North Korea.'' The interpretation saddened me because it is felt that South Korean people and the government stand firmly against North Korea and has no ethnic sympathy whatsoever. Is this really true? Are we South Koreans really worried about the threat from North Korea? Is it the reason why the Roh govemnent wants to a closer and tight relationship with the U.S.? To guarantee more secure protection from the U.S. for the case of a nuclear threat from the North? I wouldn't think so. From my perspective, the main reason is to appeal to the U.S. and the global community to help recover rotten credibility of North Korea, as part of Korea, not as an adversary. And also to overcome a possible armed attack approved and operated in the future, which will completely destroy both the North and South, and eventually will be very far away from reunification. All these humble reasons are flowing under these efforts. Kim Se-jeong Asheville, NC, USA 12-10-2004 15:57
Uri in uproar; treason charge roils Assembly
December 11, 2004 ? Angry confrontations between the governing Uri and opposition Grand National parties continued yesterday over Uri lawmaker Lee Chul-woo, charged by Grand National lawmakers with being a spy for North Korea. The National Assembly opened a special session yesterday to take up the Uri Party's main legislative slate of reform bills, but the political eruption over Mr. Lee is threatening to paralyze legislation again. Uri leaders are hoping to bring to the Assembly floor reform measures covering the media and private schools as well as approval for an investigation into the country's modern history and what is regarded as the paramount action, the abolition of the anti-communist National Security Law. Disrupting Assembly business, the Grand National Party has been relentless in charging that Mr. Lee is a longtime member of the North Korean Workers' Party, who received a code name and has been working for the communist country as a spy. Opposition lawmakers said the Assembly should hold hearings to investigate Mr. Lee's background.
More frontline leadership
Prime Minister Lee Hai-chan visiting Korean troops yesterday along the border with North Korea in Cheolwon, Gangwon province. Mr. Lee went on the trip to boost the morale of the soldiers at the year's end. Earlier this week, President Roh Moo-hyun made a surprise visit to see South Korean forces in northern Iraq.
Spycatchers missing the old days
December 11, 2004 ? The number of suspected North Korean spies caught by South Korean counterespionage agents has dropped significantly since the landmark summit meeting in 2000 between former President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Intelligence officials say the reason is they no longer receive sufficient government support to do their job. According to the National Assembly's intelligence committee records, 20 spies were caught in 1998 and 15 in 1999. Since 2000, that number has dropped to between two to four cases a year. "Honestly, at a point when discussions are held regarding the very existence of the department, the atmosphere is getting worse," said an official of the National Intelligence Service working for a special section dealing with counterespionage. "Gone are the days when one could be proud of having caught a spy." The official said that the higher echelons of the service are putting more emphasis on combating industrial espionage. Especially, among young counterespionage personnel the lack of support is taking its toll on the morale.
GNP Calls for Assembly Probe Into Spy Story
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter The opposition Grand National Party (GNP) on Friday demanded a parliamentary investigation be launched into the alleged spy case of Rep. Lee Chul-woo of the ruling Uri Party. GNP floor leader Kim Deog-ryong urged the governing party to clarify why it allowed Lee to run for the April elections, asking, ``Who else in South Korea needs to keep the flag of the Workers' Party and portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il?''
Treason charges fly in Assembly
December 10, 2004 ? The Uri and Grand National parties headed into the last day of the regular National Assembly session yesterday locked in a fierce fight over allegations of treason by a lawmaker. Late Wednesday, several Grand National lawmakers charged that Representative Lee Chul-woo of the Uri Party joined the North Korean Workers' Party in the 1980s, received a code name and has been working for the communist country as a spy. "Now we know why the Uri Party is arguing for the abolition of the National Security Law," Park Seung-hwan of the Grand National Party said Wednesday.
Ruling Party Demands GNP Apology for Spy Story
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter The ruling Uri Party on Thursday denounced the Grand National Party (GNP) as a redbaiter, saying the opposition party fabricated an ``espionage case'' in the National Assembly by labeling Rep. Lee Chul-woo as a member of North Korea's Workers' Party. ``I can't remain silent and just overlook this case,'' Lee Bu-young, Uri Party chairman, said at a rally in front of the Assembly building in which more than 300 ruling party members attended. ``The GNP still has good old memories of keeping the military regime by making up spy cases.''
The North Korean Defector Trade
Human Rights Activists or Human Slave Traders? Some "Human rights" activists make windfall profits off North Korean defectors - their clients include foreign intelligence orgs, NGOs, and news media Lee Gui-ok (age 35) is a defector from North Korea. He was with the group of 44 defectors who broke into the Canadian Embassy in Beijing on September 29, 2004. He left the group before the Canadian episode. In a recent interview, Lee detailed the plight of the North Korean defectors. He said (according to Digital Mal): "It was a den of armed robbers. All they wanted was to make money off us, They locked us in an apartment and covered all windows and locked the doors so that we could not see out or go out. At the right moment, they had their prey jump into a foreign embassy. What kind of humanitarian work is this? Those activists are human rights violators - not humanitarians. Once snagged by them, there is no escaping. They lock you up and you cannot leave. You can talk only in whispers because your neighbors may hear you and call the police. You get beaten savagely if you don't do as you are told. You become slaves in apartments that are prisons without bars or barbed wires." Currently four 'human rights' groups in China 'help' North Korean defectors to escape to South Korea. [Refugee encouragement]
Uri Demands GNP Apology for Making up Spy Case
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter The ruling Uri Party on Thursday denounced the Grand National Party (GNP) as a redbaiter, saying the opposition party fabricated an ``espionage case'' in the National Assembly by labeling Rep. Lee Chul-woo as a member of North Korea's Workers' Party. ``I can't remain silent and just overlook this case,'' Lee Bu-young, Uri Party chairman, said at a rally in front of the Assembly building in which more than 300 ruling party members attended. ``The GNP still has good old memories of keeping the military regime by making up spy cases.'' Rep. Chun Jung-bae, floor leader of the ruling party, demanded Rep. Park Geun-hye, GNP chairwoman, make an official apology and urged Rep. Joo Sung-young and his two colleagues to voluntarily resign. ``If they don't accept our request, we will use every possible way to expel the three lawmakers from parliament,'' Chun said. A day earlier, Lee was accused by the GNP members, led by Joo, of joining the North Korean ruling party in 1992 and serving for the Pyongyang regime as a spy until now. Lee immediately denied it but the plenary chamber turned into a battleground of high-pitched shouts.
Rift Widens Over National Security Law Annulment
By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter Lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties on Wednesday staged another round of confrontation at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee over a bill to scrap the National Security Law. Some 10 GNP lawmakers, including Rep. Kim Yong-kap and Rep. Kong Sung-jin gathered around the chairman's seat to occupy it in a bid to prevent what they called another ``nalchigi,'' or slamming the gavel in a quick and surprising manner to declare the passing of a bill. Other GNP members, including Rep. Choi Yeon-hee, chairman of the committee, were absent from the scene
Jeong Se-hyun Denies Role as Special Envoy
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Former Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun on Monday denied speculations that his upcoming visit to China, a close ally of North Korea, is related with the government's attempt to sound out Beijing on Seoul's possible dispatch of a special envoy to Pyongyang. ``My schedule is to visit China and Vietnam from Dec. 17 to 24, during which I will participate in scholastic events,'' he said. ``It's not related with (regional politics). I don't think it's a proper task for a former government official to do.'' Jeong served as unification minister from January 2002 to June 2004.
Lawmakers battle over security law
December 07, 2004 ? The governing Uri Party and the opposition Grand National Party fought hand- to-hand again yesterday in the National Assembly over a bill that would abolish the anti- communist National Security Law. The hearing melted down into a scuffle.
Uri Shelves Bill to Scrap Security Law
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The ruling Uri Party said Tuesday it will not seek to pass a bill to scrap the controversial National Security Law within this year, proposing an open debate to resolve the issue.
Roh says North Korea will not collapse
December 06, 2004 ? WARSAW ? In a speech to Korean residents of Poland, President Roh Moo- hyun strongly discounted the chance that North Korea would collapse politically or economically. The president, who is winding up a three-nation tour of Europe this week, said Saturday that China will support Pyeongyang because it wants to prevent a flood of North Korean refugees coming across its border. Mr. Roh also said North Korea would be better able to sustain itself because it is slowly moving toward openness and economic reform. "Some have said that North Korea will collapse," Mr. Roh said. "But I believe there is almost no such possibility. If something happens in North Korea and millions of North Koreans go over the Amnok river, then it will become a very difficult, almost unmanageable problem for China." The Amnok, also known as the Yalu, flows along the border of China and North Korea. Mr. Roh said, "Beijing helps Pyeongyang in many ways so that it cannot collapse." Saying that North Korea would eventually make rational choices for greater openness and market reforms, Mr. Roh said it is "closely examining the situations of Vietnam and China as examples of reform." The president said he saw little chance of Pyeongyang launching a war of aggression. "The Gaeseong Industrial Complex is where North Korea would concentrate soldiers if it wants to attack South Korea," Mr. Roh said. "Gaeseong is a launching point of attack, but military facilities there were removed voluntarily and an industrial complex was built instead." In a series of remarks over the past week, Mr. Roh appears to be urging the United States to soften its approach to Pyeongyang in the effort to bring the North Korean nuclear arms crisis to an end.
Old soldiers meet tragic fate
December 06, 2004 ? For Seoul, it's a sensitive issue. For families of former South Korean prisoners of war in North Korea who managed only in recent years to flee the Stalinist state and return home, it's a very special kind of separated family issue: Most of the long-time involuntary residents of North Korea had to leave wives and children behind in the north when they finally fled south. "It kills me when I think about them. I am free, but I know they might be suffering because of what I did," said Kim Ki-jong, 71, who came to the South via China last March. Mr. Kim said he left behind his wife, three sons and two daughters. His wife and his youngest son might have made it to China, but their lives, if they are indeed there, are no more secure than they were in the North. China often repatriates escaped North Koreans to their homeland. "Last year in December we received a call from a broker in China asking us to send some money. After consultations with government officials here we elected not to," said Mr. Kim.
North Korea Won't Collapse: Roh
By Ryu Jin Korea Times Correspondent WARSAW - South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said on Saturday that, contrary to some people's predictions, North Korea is not likely to fall suddenly. While meeting with South Korean residents in Poland, Roh said a sudden collapse of the North will not be desirable for South Korea as well as China, which share borders with the communist country.
Uri Reaffirms Stance on Bill to Abolish Security Law
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter Amid a high-stakes game of chicken with the opposition Grand National Party (GNP), the ruling Uri Party on Monday vowed to present the bill for the repeal of the National Security Law to the National Assembly's Legislative and Judiciary Committee within this year using all means possible.
Inter-Korean Summit Pyongyang Ought to Show Sincere Attitude
When will the nuclear standoff between North Korea and the United States be peacefully resolved? When will the second round of inter- Korean summit talks materialize? Although the two issues are separate, they have been becoming more inter-linked of late as it is generally believed that Pyongyang has no choice but to diplomatically solve the nuclear dispute as quickly as possible before Washington loses patience. Against this backdrop, it is natural for the Seoul government to seek an inter-Korean summit after a peaceful resolution to the nuclear crisis in order to shore up its dismal approval rate among the general public.
Poverty Forces Over 50% of NK Defections
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter More than 50 percent of North Korean defectors fled their communist country due to economic difficulties, according to a survey announced by the Unification Ministry in Seoul on Sunday. The survey of 4,075 North Koreans who entered South Korea from 2000 to June this year, showed that 2,263 defectors, or 55.5 percent, escaped their homeland because of poverty, the ministry said. ``More than half of the defectors left North Korea to avoid destitution and starvation,'' a ministry official said. ``Political oppression is not playing as big a role as we thought.'' Around 367 people, or 9 percent cited ``political dissatisfaction'' as a reason for defection, the ministry said.
Fleeing Korea's problems
Statistics from the Center for Immigration Studies in the United States show that about 172,000 South Koreans have immigrated to the United States since 2000. This number almost equals the total number of South Korean immigrants to the United States in the 1990s, which amounted to 183,000 in a span of ten years. Considering that it takes about three years to prepare for immigration, this shows that there was an upsurge of people who decided to emigrate after the financial crisis hit Korea in 1997. If we include the number of people who have left South Korea for good and emigrated to countries other than the United States, the total number of emigrants from 2000 onward would be much greater. Those who sent their children for early study abroad programs are, in the long term, potential emigrants. If we look at the enormous interest in emigration exhibitions and fairs, we can see there is a large number of people who are considering or preparing for emigration. On television shopping channels, emigration help programs are becoming hit products. Why are these people leaving their home country for strange and distant lands? There are those who are leaving the hellish educational conditions of this country, those who cannot bear the deadly burden of private education expenses, those who cannot find a job in Korea and those who are leaving to find new opportunities for business. Another group of emigrants are those who can make a fair living here but are repulsed by the bickering in politics and the social injustice. They all have different reasons for leaving but to sum up, they are leaving because it has become difficult or distasteful to live in this country.
Roh: 6-way talks, then summit
December 04, 2004 ? LONDON ? At a press conference here, President Roh Moo-hyun said he saw little likelihood that another inter-Korean summit could be held if the nuclear stand-off with North Korean remains unsolved. "I think there is a very low possibility of an inter-Korean summit while the six-party talks are under way," Mr. Roh said in answer to reporters' questions Thursday local time, immediately following a meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain. "A wise man does not strive for a hard-to-attain goal," Mr. Roh said. "I do not think that an inter-Korean summit will achieve something while North Korea and the United States are engaged in tense negotiations in the framework of the six- party talks ..
Battle starts over security law
December 04, 2004 ? Uri Party initial efforts to legislate the abolition of the anti-communist National Security Law met blunt rejection yesterday in the National Assembly from the Grand National Party in a scene that ended in a round of scuffles and verbal abuse. The two parties have been at odds over the bill for months. While the Uri Party argues that the law violates basic human rights and should be done away with, the Grand National Party claims that doing so would harm the security of the country and threaten Korea's liberal democracy.
If the North plays with us, they must live like us, too
December 04, 2004 ? There has been talk that a unified North and South Korean soccer team may be formed for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Yet before we go out to Gwanghwamun and light another candle to show our support, we should sit down and really think this through. Granted that there are many steps to be taken before an actual team can be fielded, but let's assume that FIFA, soccer's governing body, has cleared up all the technical issues and we only need to give our blessing. Are we going to embrace this team as another step in the right direction for inter-Korean relations? Are we going to enter the stadium hand in hand, carrying a symbolic flag showing the peninsula? Are we going to sing "Our wish is unification?"
If we do so, it should happen under one condition only. The North Korean players would be able to share a room with whomever they like. They would have free access to television, and they could talk to absolutely anyone they wished to. There is no need for North Korean officials to accompany their players. If the South Korean players decide to go out and have some real German beer, the North Koreans would be allowed to go as well, with nobody watching over them.
Hunger Prayer of S. Korean Christians
Pyongyang, December 2 (KCNA) -- Members of an organization under the south Korean Christian Presbyterian Council reportedly called a press conference in Seoul on November 29 and declared that they were going on a hunger prayer and would persist in it till the "National Security Law" would have been abolished. At the press conference Rev. Kim Tong Won, chairman of the Christian Presbyterian Council, accused the right-wing conservatives of opposing the abolition of the NSL, an obstacle to reunification, saying the Korean nation should achieve reunification by itself without help from outside.
Roh Says No S-N Summit Under 6-Party Process
By Ryu Jin, Reuben Staines Korea Times Correspondent, Staff Reporter WARSAW - President Roh Moo-hyun Thursday said he will not hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il as long as the six-party process to resolve the nuclear standoff is under way. Replying to a reporter's question during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Roh said the chances of Seoul pursuing an inter-Korean summit to make a breakthrough in the nuclear issue are ``very low.''
Defector-spy imbroglio grows
December 03, 2004 ? After news reports that prosecutors are investigating a North Korean defector for espionage activities, Chung Dong- young, minister of unification, acknowledged yesterday that there had been similar cases of North Korean defectors here returning to the North. A ranking Roh administration official also said yesterday that intelligence authorities have expanded investigations into possible spies masquerading as defectors in South Korea. "A senior North Korean intelligence official defected to South Korea in February," the official said. "He informed us about North Korean agents who have been posing as defectors."
Seoul Denies Defector's Spying Activities
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Government officials on Thursday rebuffed a news report that claimed a North Korean defector, identified by his surname Lee, engaged in espionage in South Korea. The National Intelligence Service (NIS), which initially investigated suspicions of Lee's spying, said in a press release that he didn't conduct any intelligence-gathering activities in South Korea. The media report, which prompted anti-communist sentiment among conservatives in the South, came as the ruling Uri Party is trying to scrap the anti-communist National Security Law.
NGOs face crisis over U.S. rights act
Word of the U.S. North Korean Human Rights Act has spread quickly among defectors in China, Russia and other countries, as well as to citizens in the communist state, a nongovernmental organization says. Tim Peters, founder of Helping Hands Korea who has spoken with people in China recently, said news of the bill may encourage North Koreans to defect or refugees to seek asylum when previously they would have been "less inclined to do so." He also sees the bill causing divisions among North Koreans not loyal to the communist party. That's good news to Peters, but disconcerting for others with a common goal to improve human rights in North Korea who prefer the South Korean government tend to the North's needs first, or that the United States not involve itself at all. [Refugee encouragement]
Working Contact Among Koreans in North, South and Overseas in Mt.Kumgang
Three-Point Joint Press Release Issued A working-level contact among the representatives of Koreans in the North, the South and overseas took place at a Mt. Kumgang resort on November 23 and 24. It was attended by the representatives of Koreans from all walks of life in the North, the South and overseas and those of various reunification movements.
North Blames South for West Sea Battle
The Navy of North Korea criticized South Korea for firing shots of its boats, calling the action a "grave military provocation." The Navy Command of the KPA (the Korean People's Army) issued a communique on November 2 accusing the South Korean military authorities of provoking the North. The communique said as follows. At around 10:55 that morning, combat warships of South Korea fired several shells at a patrol boat of the Navy of the KPA on a routine guard duty in the waters of the North side
Defectors in Seoul Skeptical of NK Exile Government
Support From South Korea Needed for Establishment
By Reuben Staines, Park Song-wu Staff Reporters North Korean defectors residing in South Korea on Wednesday expressed skepticism over an attempt to establish a North Korean government-in-exile in Japan to oppose Kim Jong-il's communist regime. The heads of six associations of North Korean defectors reportedly agreed to set up a provisional government by March next year during a meeting in Tokyo Nov. 19-20. But several prominent defectors in Seoul told The Korea Times that while they sympathize with any bid to democratize North Korea, they have reservations about the proposed government's political motives, support-base and chances of bringing about real change.
South and North Korean Diplomats Discuss NK Nuclear Issue
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) _ Diplomats from the two Koreas met in New York on Tuesday at a seminar on the dispute over North Korea's nuclear program. Wi Sung-lac, political minister at South Korea's embassy in Washington, said he met Han Song-ryol, deputy chief of North Korea's mission to the United Nations, at the luncheon seminar organized by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP). ``I attended as an individual at the invitation of the NCAFP,'' Wi said. ``About 20 participants, including U.S. experts on the Korean peninsula, mainly heard North Korea's view on six-party talks from Han.'' Wi described the seminar as ``useful,'' but did not disclose details, including what the North Korean diplomat said. He said no U.S. government official was present.
A spy turns up among defectors
December 02, 2004 ? South Korean intelligence officials said yesterday that a North Korean agent had successfully infiltrated South Korea in the wave of defectors who have fled their communist homeland and sought asylum in the South. The agent, who recently turned himself in to the South Korean authorities, had been ordered to gather information on Seoul's handling of defectors. According to the sources, the man, who was not identified, returned to North Korea to deliver information to authorities in Pyeongyang. It is the first time Seoul officials have acknowledged that a North Korean spy posing as an asylum-seeker has reached the South. The government and the National Security Council were told about the case by intelligence officials four months ago, but the information has been closely guarded.
Tears and anger: Flt. 858 recalled
November 30, 2004 ? A family member yesterday at the memorial held at Seoul City Hall for victims of KAL 858. [YONHAP] [photo] Family members of the victimes of Korea Airlines Flt. 858 commemorated in Seoul yesterday the 17th anniversary of the airliner's disappearance over the Indian Ocean off Myanmar. On Nov. 29, 1987, the plane departed Baghdad for Seoul with 115 passengers aboard, just days before presidential elections in South Korea.
At the time, the Blue House and the intelligence authorities announced that the plane had exploded as the result of a bomb planted on board by North Korea. Kim Hyun-hee, a North Korean agent, confessed to the bombing. Families of the victims, however, have long contended that there was not enough evidence to support Seoul's explanation of the incident, and they have demanded a new investigation.
At yesterday's memorial, 250 participants including the victims' families and activists, participated. [Terrorism]
Christians Call for Abolishing Evil Law in S. Korea
Pyongyang, November 27 (KCNA) -- The National Council of Priests for Justice and Peace and the Headquarters of the Christian Movement for Abolition of the "National Security Law" in south Korea reportedly called a press conference in Seoul on November 22 to call for abolishing the evil law. Vice-Chairman Pak Su Hyon and Permanent Chairman Kim Pyong Gyun of the national council and other speakers said that the NSL has been used for keeping the power of the conservative forces under the cloak of security and that the evil law must be abrogated for south-north exchange and reunification. A declaration read out at the press conference charged that some religionists are putting the brake on the repeal of the evil law in collusion with the conservative forces. After the press conference the participants conveyed the declaration to the "House of National Assemblymen."
`Silmido' Tops 25th Blue Dragon Awards
By Kim Tae-jong Staff Reporter The blockbuster ``Silmido'' garnered three prizes _ Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor Award _ at the 25th Blue Dragon Awards ceremony, held in Seoul Monday. At the ceremony held at the Main Hall of the National Theater of Korea in Changchung-dong, Seoul, director Kang Woo-suk was on hand to receive the prizes for his film, a Cold War thriller based on a true story about a suicide commando unit created in the late 1960s to assassinate North Korean leader. [Unit 684]

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