North Korea is becoming more threatening simply because things are not going their way at the moment, says Hyun In Taek, the South Korean Minister of Unification.
Nevertheless, Hyun told the Diplomacy, Commerce and Unification Committee of the National Assembly on April 13th, “The resumption of Mt. Geumgang tourism is completely up to North Korea.”
When Chung Dong Young, a Democratic Party congressman, asked whether he thought the resumption of Mt. Geumgang tourism was actually possible, Hyun re-stated the administration’s position, “We delivered a list of acceptable conditions and necessary advance tasks.”
Theretofore, the South Korean government has consistently stated that if three major conditions were to be met, the tours could resume in short order. These conditions are a thorough investigation into the death of tourist Park Wang Ja in the summer of 2008, measures to prevent any recurrence of that event and a system to guarantee the personal security of tourists.
In Hyun’s words, “An essential part of Mt. Geumgang tours is the safe return of tourists, which means that a basic system to build in these conditions should be put in place.”
Asked his opinion on the whys and wherefores of the “freezing” of real estate in the Mt. Geumgang zone, Hyun said he thinks, “North Korea is pressuring us based on the belief that the issue of Mt. Geumgang tourism is not proceeding according to their interest.”
“North Korea says that they have fulfilled their responsibilities, citing the conversation which took place between Kim Jong Il and Hyun Jung Eun, Hyundai Group Chairwoman, on safety last year,” Hyun noted. “However, the South Korean government believes that very specific details should be discussed in a working group meeting.”
“We feel that the agreement between North and South Korea (Kim and Hyun) is insufficient, which makes the need to materialize a consensus self-evident.”
Upon the expression of the concern of Chin Young, a ruling Grand National Party congressman, that the Kaesong Industrial Complex might be under threat in the present climate, Hyun agreed, warning,
“If North Korea causes harm to the Kaesong Industrial Complex rather than seeking a positive solution, inter-Korean relations will become more difficult.”
On a different tack, Moon Hak Jin of the Democratic Party asked the Minister of Unification for an update on the North Korean announcement made on February 26th whereby it was revealed that “an investigation is being conducted into four South Koreans who illegally entered North Korea.”
mHowever, Hyun could only confirm that, “North Korea has not provided any notification on this so we urged them publicly again on March 26th.”
“North Korea has not made an official announcement on this issue for 45 days. We fully understand the magnitude of this problem and will concentrate our efforts on confirming the truth.”
http://www.dailynk.com/english/read_print.php?cataId=nk00100&num=6236
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