Seoul signals no changes in N.K. policy

Foreign Ministry officials yesterday indicated that there would be no changes to Seoul`s North Korea policies demanding "irrevocable" denuclearization measures from Pyongyang in return for extensive economic and social aid.

They also reiterated that Seoul and Washington were - contrary to recent media reports highlighting a possible rift in how the two allies would line up the possible incentives to the North - indeed on the same page on their North Korea policies.

"There is no rift, and the approach toward North Korea seeking irreversible and complete denuclearization will be unwavering," said one ministry official declining to be identified.

Speaking from the United States where he participated in the U.N. General Assembly and G20 financial summit, President Lee Myung-bak last week proposed a "grand bargain" deal with the reclusive Pyongyang regime.

Lee urged the North to reap the fruit of such a contract by embarking on irrevocable steps at denuclearization.



Washington expressed confusion towards the overture, hinting it would be difficult to resolve the North Korean standoff in a "single step."

Seoul officials yesterday stressed that the international community, particularly the members of the six-nation talks aimed at North Korea`s denuclearization, were all on the same page.

China is likely to remain supportive of the sanctions imposed under the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874 adopted in June following the North`s second nuclear test, but officials said Beijing`s participation would hinge on how well the rest of the nations preserve the momentum for the sanctions.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao is expected to visit North Korea during Oct. 4-6, according to Pyongyang`s state-run broadcaster yesterday.

His visit comes following a series of visits by Chinese officials to the North since the May 25 nuclear blast.

Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo`s visit to Pyongyang two weeks earlier resulted in North Korean leader Kim Jong-il`s comments suggesting he would come out to not only bilateral discussions with Washington, but also multilateral ones.

But regarding Washington`s role, officials noted that the bilateral discussions desired by the North should not pave the way for exclusive talks centering only on issues concerning the United States and North Korea.

Pyongyang has since July been looking for a one-on-one with the United States, possibly in the aftermath of the stringent sanctions it has faced since the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1874 in June following the North`s second nuclear test.

Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan earlier this month issued a strong message urging the United States to note that South Korea should play a leading role in defusing the North Korean nuclear crisis.

Yesterday, officials noted the sensitivity of operating two tracks of policies towards the North, one aimed to continue engaging Pyongyang for the sake of amiable inter-Korean relations and the other for continuing with the sanctions under the U.N. resolution.

On Saturday the two Koreas started their first round of family reunions in over two years, during which the North Korean Red Cross hinted that it would like to be repaid for its "gestures of goodwill" towards the South.

The family reunions were the result of a breakthrough meeting between Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun and Kim Jong-il last month.

During Hyun`s trip Pyongyang released a South Korean worker it had been detaining for three months. Earlier in August, the North set free two American journalists who had been sentenced to years of hard labor for illegal trespassing.

The United States expressed its gratitude for the release but has yet to grant the bilateral dialogue to North Korea.

(jemmie@heraldm.com)



By Kim Ji-hyun