Pro-Pyongyang daily dismisses concern over sidelining Seoul

Posted on : 2008-04-26 09:05 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST

A pro-Pyongyang daily in Japan dismissed Friday mounting concerns that North Korea may try to sideline South Korea at the six-party talks on dismantling the communist state's nuclear programs.

North Korea has stepped up harsh rhetoric against Seoul recently to protest its tough position while being cooperative in Washington's efforts to restart the stalled negotiations.

Seoul has ignored the rhetoric, considering it part of diplomatic tactics by Pyongyang to gain the upper hand in future dialogue with the South. Local news media, however, raised concerns that Seoul may have to shoulder the heavy cost of denuclearizing its neighbor if the South is sidelined in the nuclear dispute.

The Choson Sinbo, newspaper of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, claimed in a commentary that the South's conservative forces accustomed to "sycophancy toward the U.S." have "arbitrarily distorted" the North's true intention.

The daily, which usually represents Pyongyang's position, alleged Seoul is using the nuclear dispute as an excuse to handle inter-Korean relations as part of the South's foreign diplomacy.

President Lee Myung-bak has vowed to adjust the speed of inter-Korean cooperation projects to progress in the denuclearization talks and unsuccessfully tried to merge the Unification Ministry, the country's top office in dealing with the North, into the Foreign Ministry.

"It's eventually up to themselves if things after the North Korea-U.S. deal in Singapore develop as worried by the South Korean conservative authorities or not," the daily said.

It also urged Lee to respect last year's inter-Korean summit agreement on further economic cooperation and peace programs if he does not want to worsen inter-Korean ties any longer.

SEOUL, April 25 (Yonhap)

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