Amid N. Korean turmoil, inter-Korean projects going ahead

Posted on : 2013-12-14 16:10 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Meetings suggest that Pyongyang is handling external economic projects separately from internal matters
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By Choi Hyun-june, staff reporter

The same day that North Korea executed former Workers’ Party of Korea administrative department chief Jang Song-thaek, it issued a proposal to South Korea for a meeting of the joint committee on the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

It also accepted Seoul’s request for a visit to the complex by delegations from the G-20 and the international financial institutions (IFIs) on the same day, Dec. 12. The South Korean government expressed its agreement the following day.

“On the afternoon of the 12th, the North proposed holding a fourth meeting of the Kaesong Industrial Complex’s inter-Korean joint committee at the complex on Dec. 19,” reported Ministry of Unification spokesperson Kim Ui-do on Dec. 13.

“We expressed our agreement this morning,” he added.

The fact that the proposal came the same day as Jang’s execution suggests that Pyongyang wants to make it clear that external economic cooperation issues are being dealt with separately from internal power battles.

In accepting the proposal, Seoul opened the way for the first meeting of the inter-Korean committee in the more than three months since the third meeting was held back on Sept. 16. When South and North reached a basic agreement to return the complex to normal operation, they also made plans to hold joint committee meetings every three months to discuss system improvements and other key issues.

Pyongyang also said on Dec. 12 that it would be accepting South Korea’s proposal for a Dec. 19 visit to the complex by representatives from the G-20 and IFIs.

A Seoul conference for the G-20, co-organized by the South Korean and Australian finance ministries, is scheduled to take place on Dec. 18 and 19, with vice minister for Australia, Russia, and four other G-20 countries slated to attend, along with officials from the International Monetary Fund and Bank for International Settlements.

Former Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun said North Korea’s proposal was intended to provide reassurance. “At a time when people are worried that North Korea’s economic cooperation with the South and overseas in general might stop, Pyongyang is clearly stating, ‘No, that’s not the case,’” said Jeong.

A senior official in the current ministry echoed the optimism. “Judging from these developments, it looks like there could be a lot more progress than expected in inter-Korean relations, at least over the next month or so,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

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