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The Defense Ministry sent a response Thursday to North Korea’s message that it intended to “strictly limit and cut off overland passage through the Military Demarcation Line from December 1” and proposed discussion on the supply of materials and equipment for military communication lines.

The Defense Ministry stated, “In response to the message delivered on November 12 in the name of Lieutenant General Kim Yong-chol, leader of the North Korean delegation at the inter-Korean general-level talks, we sent a response to the North at 10:30 this morning in the name of Ministry of Defense policy planner Kwon Oh-sung, the chief representative of South Korea.”

Lee Sang-cheol, head of the Ministry’s North Korea Policy Division, said, “There needs to be practical discussion of when and where to transfer and receive the materials and equipment for the military communication lines, how to carry out the engineering and how to connect them with the Military Demarcation Line after we have purchased the materials and they are prepared.” Lee added, “We proposed dialogue to discuss these issues.”

Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyeon explained, “The Defense Ministry proposed discussion to the North, but it is not a precondition of the supply, and they clarified that their policy was fundamentally to give the materials.”

In its message, the Defense Ministry expressed its regrets regarding the notification of limited overland passage through the Military Demarcation Line and urged cooperation from the North toward the development of inter-Korean relations of co-existence and co-prosperity through dialogue and collaboration. It also explained that it will continue to maintain and develop cooperative projects beneficial to both North and South Korea, such as the Gaeseong (Kaesong) Industrial Complex, and work along with the government’s measures thus far regarding the distribution of leaflets in North Korea by civilian groups.

The military communications network in the West Sea region, where communication is carried out between North and South Korea over transit into and out of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, has been paralyzed since May due to poor quality communication lines and equipment. North Korea has been rerouting communication regarding industrial complex transit through its East Sea region communication network. Last June, the South Korean government agreed to provide support in materials and equipment and sent some equipment, including fax machines. But subsequent material supplies, including fiber-optic cables, were discontinued following the shooting death of a tourist at Mount Geumgang (Kumgang) in July. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan said, “It is true that we have kept step with the North Korean nuclear issue and deferred supplies with the sense of sending a message to the North while the Mount Geumgang tourism situation remains unresolved.”

The government’s belated expression of its intent to supply follow-up materials has a strong sense of “appeasing North Korea.” They are attempting to use this matter, requested first by the North Korean military, in order to try to revive the driving force to prevent further deterioration of inter-Korean relations. There were also concerns that if material supplies should be delayed, North Korean might use the poor quality of communication as a reason to cut off all transit into and out of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.

But some are commenting that these measures have come too late. An expert from the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses said, “The support should have been provided on October 27 when the North requested it if they wanted to preserve the momentum.” Former Vice Unification Minister Lee Bong-jo said, “There is a need for the president to be proactive in the solution of individual pending issues and at the same time directly express his firm intention of stepping forward to advance inter-Korean relations.” Lee added, “Even if it’s not a declaration of enforcement of the June 15 and October 4 agreements, we need to find our style of language that can include that sense.”

But Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hwan made it clear that this measure did not mean a change in position. In response to a question about the government’s measures at a discussion held at the Kwanhun Club Thursday morning, Yoo responded that “it is difficult to understand what the North is telling us to change and how, in a situation where they are cutting off our path of retreat and pressuring us aggressively.” He reconfirmed that South Korea’s position is not to show any signs of backing down despite pressure from North Korea.

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