No Gaeseong expansion without progress in nuclear standoff

Posted on : 2008-03-20 12:23 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Unification minister outlines government’s policy, which is to include continuation of humanitarian assistance

Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong said on March 19 that the Gaeseong (Kaesong) Industrial Complex will not be expanded until there is progress in the North Korean nuclear issue.

During a meeting with representatives of companies currently doing business in the industrial complex located in the North Korean city, Minister Kim said, “Unless North Korea’s nuclear issue is resolved, it will be difficult to expand the (Gaeseong Industrial Complex).”

Kim’s remarks apparently mean that Seoul plans to maintain the first stage of development of the industrial complex, which was completed last year, but that the question of whether the remaining stages of development will be carried out is dependant on progress in the North Korean nuclear issue. Seoul had initially planned to expand the complex in three stages, with completion of the project scheduled for 2015.

“North Korea should resolve issues of communication, passage, and customs, and prepare conditions under which South Korean companies can comfortably do business. In addition, Pyongyang should take a more sincere attitude toward the nuclear issue,” Kim said, adding that Seoul will be willing to actively expand the project under those conditions. “The future of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex depends on the North Korean attitude,” he said.

A high-ranking South Korean official who is currently in Washington said on March 18 that Seoul would provide humanitarian assistance, such as rice and fertilizer, to North Korea if there is a request for aid from the reclusive nation.

At a press conference with South Korean correspondents in Washington, the official said that he had explained the new South Korean administration’s North Korea policy to U.S. National Security Adviser Steven Hadley and discussed with him the issue of humanitarian assistance.

“If we receive a request for humanitarian aid from Pyongyang, the two Koreas will be able to resume their dialogue,” the official said.

He went on to say, “Hadley remarked that the South Korean government should make its own policy decisions. The new government’s North Korea policy is based on ‘four principles of inter-Korean economic cooperation, plus alpha.’”

The South will make decisions based on progress in the denuclearization process and will start to act when conditions, including evaluation of the agreements between North and South, the possibility of securing necessary resources and public support are satisfied. The “alpha” represents assistance for North Korea based on humanitarian principles.

“In connection with humanitarian aid for North Korea, government agencies have not reached an agreement but discussion is under way regarding the details of the aid,” the official said.

The new administration, however, is not planning to adopt the policies of former President Roh Moo-hyun’s administration, the official said, indicating that there are likely to be changes ahead.

The previous administration was known to have been lenient with its northern neighbor, a stance the new hard-line administration is not likely to adopt. The current president, Lee Myung-bak, has pledged closer ties with the United States, Japan and other nations that are part of a six-party forum convened to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

The ministry’s announcement comes as stalled talks on that issue seem to be deteriorating further. Progress on the North Korean nuclear issue began to accelerate following an aid-for-denuclearization deal struck last year by North Korea, the United States, China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea, but has stalled in recent months due to disagreement over the North Korean declaration and fuel deliveries.

Under the accord, North Korea agreed to shut down its nuclear facilities and provide a declaration of its nuclear programs by the end of 2007, a deadline which it missed, in exchange for shipments of heavy fuel oil and diplomatic concessions.

The declaration, and the delivery of energy aid, continues to be a stumbling block to resolution of the issue. Though the North says it provided a full declaration in November, the United States has thus far been unsatisfied.

The top nuclear negotiators from the two countries met in Beijing last week to try to iron out their differences, but though the two countries have agreed to continue their dialogue, they have not yet been able to find resolution on the issue.

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