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정부가 25일 남북 당국간 개성공단 실무회담 개최를 공식 제의했다. 이날 정부는 북한 당국에 26일 오전까지 회담 제의에 대한 입장 회신을 요구하며 거부 시 “중대 조치”가 불가피하다고 밝혔다.
김형석 통일부 대변인은 이날 오전 정부서울청사 합동브리핑실에서 성명을 발표하고 “현 개성공단 상황을 장기적으로 그냥 둘 수는 없다”며 “면담 거절에 이어 이번에 제의하는 개성공단 실무회담까지 거부한다면 우리로서는 중대한 조치를 취하지 않을 수 없다고 말했다.
김형석 통일부 대변인은 이날 오전 정부서울청사 합동브리핑실에서 성명을 발표하고 “현 개성공단 상황을 장기적으로 그냥 둘 수는 없다”며 “면담 거절에 이어 이번에 제의하는 개성공단 실무회담까지 거부한다면 우리로서는 중대한 조치를 취하지 않을 수 없다고 말했다.
김 대변인은 중대한 조치가 무엇인지 구체적으로 언급하지 않았으나, 남측 체류 인원 176명 전원 철수나 공단 폐쇄 등 고강도 조치를 부정하지 않았다.
또한, 김 대변인은 이날 “북한은 이러한 우리 측의 면담제의를 거부하면서 우리 측의 요구사항을 담은 서면문건 접수마저도 거부했다”고 비난하며 “북한이 개성공단 우리측 근무자들을 위한 최소한의 인도적 조치를 거부한 것은 매우 유감스럽다”고 덧붙였다.
한편, 북한이 4월 4일 개성공단 통행제한조치를 취하고 9일 공단 가동을 중단시킴으로서 공단에 내주한 124개 한국 기업은 막대한 타격을 입었다. 관련업계에 따르면 공장 가동 중단이 16일째 이어지며 입주 기업이 입은 피해액은 이미 1조원을 웃돌고, 이번 사태로 이한 생산 중단, 납품 차질 등 직접적인 피해 외 거래처 피해 보상과 협력 업체 악영향까지 감안하면 피해액은 약 2조원을 상회할 것으로 보인다.
개성공단 관련, 박근혜 대통령과 류길재 통일부 장관은 지난 11일 북한에 대화를 제의했으나 북한의 거부로 무산되었다. 이에 대해 14일, 북한 조국평화통일위원회는 “사죄나 책임에 대해서는 말 한 마디 없이 대화를 운운한다”며 각종 제제와 군사 도발에 대해 먼저 사죄하기를 요구했다.
정보 소식통에 의하면 정부는 그 이후로 꾸준히 개성공단위원회와 북한 중앙특구개발지도 총국장과 물밑 접촉을 시도해 왔다고 한다.
북한의 대화 제의 수용 여부는 불투명하다. 최근 북한의 핵 도발 위협 및 발언 수위는 낮아졌으나 별다른 대화 의지는 비치지 않았다.
일부 전문가는 3월 1일 시작해 4월 31일에 종료되는 한미 연합 상륙 훈련 독수리연습(FE)이 종결될 때까지 남북한의 신경전이 지속될 것으로 예상한다. (코리아 헤럴드 신현희 기자/번역 이상주)
<관련 영어 기사>
Seoul offers talks over Gaeseong with warning of ‘grave’ action
By Shin Hyon-hee
South Korea on Thursday offered formal talks with North Korea to normalize the Gaeseong industrial park with a warning that it will take “grave action” unless the North accepts it by Friday morning.
North Korea suspended the joint industrial park north of the border amid heightening military tension in early April,
“We cannot let the Gaeseong industrial complex be in the current situation for the long haul,” Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-suk told a news conference.
“Accordingly we are officially proposing to North Korea to hold working-level talks between the two responsible governments to resolve humanitarian issues for workers at Gaeseong and normalize the complex.”
Seoul’s position remains steadfast that the district should be maintained and developed in a stable manner, Kim added.
“But if North Korea again rejects our offer, we will have no choice but to take a serious measure.”
He did not elaborate on the measure but appeared to signal that Seoul may pull out all its 176 remaining citizens from the complex.
Losses for the factories have snowballed since the communist country banned the entry of South Korean people and cargo on April 4 and withdrew its 53,000 employees on April 9, effectively suspending operations.
The decision followed a weeks-long torrent of North Korean military threats since South Korea and the U.S. began military drills and the U.N. levied its strongest sanctions last month over a nuclear test.
The remaining South Koreans, mostly executives and plant managers, are subsisting on ramen, biscuits and other instant food stored as snacks for night shifts. A surging number of firms are suffering order cancelations, a client exodus and credit crunch.
In an unpredicted offer of an olive branch, President Park Geun-hye and Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae proposed dialogue two weeks ago to settle the disputes and reactivate the assembly lines.
But the intractable regime dismissed it, demanding Seoul and Washington first end and apologize for international sanctions and “provocations” including the military exercises.
Even so, the Unification Ministry has since requested informal talks “almost every day” with the Kaesong Industrial District Management Committee and the General Bureau for the Special Zone Development Guidance in charge of the complex, a senior official told The Korea Herald on condition of anonymity. “North Korea even refused to take our written demand that it allow a medical team and a minimum number of people to cross the border to clear humanitarian problems and deliver foodstuffs,” Kim said.
Whether Pyongyang will accept is unclear. It appears to have shown a letup in its nuclear threats and bellicose rhetoric but at the same time no sign of reconciliation has seeped out of the country.
Some officials and experts have said that a war of nerves between the two Koreas will hold out at least until the annual Foal Eagle drill finishes at the end of this month. (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)
Seoul offers talks over Gaeseong with warning of ‘grave’ action
By Shin Hyon-hee
South Korea on Thursday offered formal talks with North Korea to normalize the Gaeseong industrial park with a warning that it will take “grave action” unless the North accepts it by Friday morning.
North Korea suspended the joint industrial park north of the border amid heightening military tension in early April,
“We cannot let the Gaeseong industrial complex be in the current situation for the long haul,” Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-suk told a news conference.
“Accordingly we are officially proposing to North Korea to hold working-level talks between the two responsible governments to resolve humanitarian issues for workers at Gaeseong and normalize the complex.”
Seoul’s position remains steadfast that the district should be maintained and developed in a stable manner, Kim added.
“But if North Korea again rejects our offer, we will have no choice but to take a serious measure.”
He did not elaborate on the measure but appeared to signal that Seoul may pull out all its 176 remaining citizens from the complex.
Losses for the factories have snowballed since the communist country banned the entry of South Korean people and cargo on April 4 and withdrew its 53,000 employees on April 9, effectively suspending operations.
The decision followed a weeks-long torrent of North Korean military threats since South Korea and the U.S. began military drills and the U.N. levied its strongest sanctions last month over a nuclear test.
The remaining South Koreans, mostly executives and plant managers, are subsisting on ramen, biscuits and other instant food stored as snacks for night shifts. A surging number of firms are suffering order cancelations, a client exodus and credit crunch.
In an unpredicted offer of an olive branch, President Park Geun-hye and Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae proposed dialogue two weeks ago to settle the disputes and reactivate the assembly lines.
But the intractable regime dismissed it, demanding Seoul and Washington first end and apologize for international sanctions and “provocations” including the military exercises.
Even so, the Unification Ministry has since requested informal talks “almost every day” with the Kaesong Industrial District Management Committee and the General Bureau for the Special Zone Development Guidance in charge of the complex, a senior official told The Korea Herald on condition of anonymity. “North Korea even refused to take our written demand that it allow a medical team and a minimum number of people to cross the border to clear humanitarian problems and deliver foodstuffs,” Kim said.
Whether Pyongyang will accept is unclear. It appears to have shown a letup in its nuclear threats and bellicose rhetoric but at the same time no sign of reconciliation has seeped out of the country.
Some officials and experts have said that a war of nerves between the two Koreas will hold out at least until the annual Foal Eagle drill finishes at the end of this month. (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)
