Incheon Mayor-Elect Pledges to Resume Inter-Korean Projects

Incheon mayor-elect Song Young-gil on Wednesday pledged to resume an inter-

Korean exchange project that is on hold in the wake of the North sinking of the Navy

corvette Cheonan.

A spokesman for the mayor's team said inter-Korean relations are at a nadir due to

the Lee Myung-bak government, which "inherited former U.S. president George

Bush's failed hardline North Korea policy."

But the new mayor, from the opposition Democratic Party, "will take the initiative to

turn the relationship into a forum for reconciliation and exchange."

The spokesman said the city government will release W2 billion (US$1=W1,211)

from the city budget earmarked for inter-Korean exchange and cooperation the moment Song is

sworn in. The fund has been frozen since the central government halted all inter-Korean exchange projects except the joint Kaesong Industrial Complex over the Cheonan sinking.

http://english.chosun.com/svc/news/printContent.html