Seoul to form N.K. policy task force

The Unification Ministry plans to form a task force to complement its North Korea policy in a longer term strategic view, a government source said yesterday.

The task force will review the government`s current North Korea policy and craft a mid- and long-term strategy to guide its relations with North Korea, the source said on condition of anonymity. It will be established under the ministry`s unification policy bureau, the source said.

The plan came following President Lee Myung-bak`s instruction on Dec. 31 that the ministry should exert more efforts in formulating longer-term policies toward Pyongyang.

During the 2009 policy briefing, Lee said he will deal with the strained ties with North Korea from a long-term perspective.

The president pointed out that the ministry`s current policy lacks vision and strategy, in reference to clear guidelines to ameliorating Seoul`s relations with Pyongyang.

In the briefing, the ministry focused on inter-Korean projects the South will implement when the North returns to the table.

Pyongyang has boycotted inter-Korean dialogue in protest of Lee`s conservative North Korea policy dubbed as "Vision 3000."

The policy would aim to lift the communist nation out of extreme poverty. It suggests Seoul provide comprehensive assistance to the North to help it develop $3,000 per capita GDP within the next 10 years if the North abandons its nuclear ambitions.

North Korea has condemned the policy as hostile, and halted or downsized key inter-Korean projects such as Gaeseong toursand the Gaeseong industrial park.

Lee`s policy has also drawn criticism from liberals here who are worried over the marred ties with Pyongyang.

By Jin Dae-woong



(davidpooh@heraldm.com)