S. Korea Calls on North to Resolve Nuclear Row
2003-02-12
South Korean officials brought up the North's nuclear program as the first item on the agenda during inter-Korean economic talks in Seoul that started Tuesday.
The five-member delegation from Pyongyang, however, tried to sidestep the sensitive issue, instead underlining the significance of “pure” cooperation between the two countries.
During the first official meeting on Wednesday (Feb. 12), delegates from the South called on their northern counterparts to promptly solve the sensitive nuclear issue.
“The South Korean delegation delivered a clear message that it (the nuclear issue) is the biggest barrier to economic cooperation between the two countries, and urged the North to take immediate action to clear the obstacle,” senior Unification Ministry official Cho Myung-gyun said.
But North Korean officials evaded a direct answer, saying they have already clarified their position about it, Cho added.
South Korea has pressured North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions, only to hear the refrain that the crisis should be settled through direct talks with Washington.
“South Korean officials expressed concern over dragging joint projects such as the reconnections of two sets of cross-border roads and railway lines,” Cho said. “They asked the North to implement the work as planned under an earlier agreement.”
The Gyeonggui Line (Seoul-Shineuju) runs to China up the west side of the peninsula, and the Donghae Line stretches to Russia along the eastern side.
The two sides had already agreed to link Gyeongui railway by the end of last year, but the North has yet to finish work on its side.
Other railway and roads are also to be connected this year.
“North Korean delegates showed a willingness to actively discuss the issues,” Cho said, “I expected the two sides to reach a concrete agreement.”
North Korean officials are scheduled to fly back home on Friday, wrapping up the four-day gathering, the fourth of its kind in the follow-up to the historic summit in June 2000.
Source : www.korea.net
