[USFK Forums] Inter-Korean Cabinet Talks Open Tomorrow [Korea Times]

[C. Y. Lee]

[Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Monday, December 12, 2005]

Inter-Korean Cabinet Talks Open Tomorrow

The Korea Times, Monday, December 12, 2005
By Seo Dong-shin, Staff Reporter

A four-day inter-Korean ministerial-level meeting opens on Tuesday on the southern resort island of Cheju, as South Korea hopes to persuade the North to reaffirm unimplemented agreements reached during previous meetings.

The South has also expressed hope that the talks will provide momentum for the six-nation talks on the North’s nuclear programs predicted to resume in mid-January. ``We will call on North Korea to assess the inter-Korean achievements made so far and agree on detailed measures for further implementation of previous agreements,’’ Kim Chun-sig, the South’s spokesman for the talks, told reporters in a briefing on Monday.

The two Koreas signed a flurry of agreements during the previous 16 rounds of ministerial talks. But a number of them, such as talks between the military authorities and opening of direct railways across the heavily fortified inter-Korean border, which were originally agreed to take place this year, have yet to be implemented, along with marine cooperation on the West Sea.

``Secondly, we will put forward our blueprint for further improving inter-Korean relations and pursuing peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and discuss them sincerely with the North,’’ said Kim, who is also director of the Unification Ministry’s inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation bureau.

The agenda also includes humanitarian issues such as the repatriation of South Korean prisoners of wars (POWs) and abductees after the 1950-53 Korean War, and some issues regarding inter-Korean economic cooperation, Kim said.

While refusing to reveal negotiation details ahead of the talks, Kim said that the South has some leverage to press the North to meet the South’s demands. The ministerial talks, the 17th of its kind, follows the 15th last June in Seoul and the 16th in Pyongyang in September.

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young leads the South’s delegation to the talks. The Northern delegation is headed by Kwon Ho-ung, a senior Cabinet councilor who was chief delegate at previous talks.

The North Korean delegates will fly directly from Pyongyang to Cheju Island. On the sidelines of the talks, South Korea hopes to push for the six-nation talks whose prospects seem to have clouded due to recent friction between North Korea and the United States over financial sanctions.

Another pending issue is inter-Korean general-level military talks, which Kim said can be held within the year if the North agrees, as the two sides have already discussed the agenda during working-level meetings.

saltwall@koreatimes.co.kr 12-12-2005 17:59