hankyoreh

Following recent developments in inter-Korean relations, the South Korean government will seek to establish offices of economic cooperation in Seoul and Pyongyang and later upgrade them to offices of permanent representatives, once a legal and institutional framework for greater cooperation between the two Koreas has been more firmly established.

The government submitted the First Basic Framework for Inter-Korean Relations, which contains plans for the establishment of the two offices, to the National Assembly on November 22. The plan outlines the vision, purpose and direction of inter-Korean relations for the next five years beginning in 2008 and follows a law on the development of inter-Korean relations.

The aim of the plan, dubbed the Peace Settlement and Institutionalization of Inter-Korean Reconciliation and Cooperation, lays out seven basic strategies. They are: realizing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula; establishing a peace mechanism; initiating the construction of an inter-Korean economic community; seeking to recover national identity; resolving humanitarian issues; creating the legal and institutional groundwork for inter-Korean relations; and strengthening cooperation on North Korea policy.

In connection with the creation of legal and institutional bases for inter-Korean relations, the government also plans to establish offices of economic cooperation in Seoul and Pyongyang, before upgrading them to offices of permanent representatives in charge of liaison affairs and the protection of visitors.

The government also plans to expand the North’s social overhead capital and supply 100,000 kilowatts of power to the Mount Geumgang (Kumgang) resort area. It will also construct a new power plant in the Gaeseong (Kaesong) Industrial Complex.

In addition, Seoul will seek to resolve the issues related to South Korean prisoners of war and those kidnapped by North Korea and repatriate their remains if conditions allow.

However, it is unclear whether the next administration will implement the plan. President Roh Moo-hyun’s five-year term ends next February and he is not, by law, eligible for re-election.

The Unification Ministry said, “As inter-Korean relations are a driving force for the peace and economic growth of the Korean Peninsula, the incoming administration won’t be able to ignore them. The South-North relationship designated by the basic framework should be respected from the perspective of the national interest, not from a political point of view.”
According to the ministry, the basic framework is subject to changes in relations and the situation in neighboring countries.

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