Result of the Fourth "Open Unification Forum" 2004
ROK Ministry of Unification
2004-06-02
1. Contents
o Date : Wednesday, May 12, 2004, 14:00~16:40
o Location : The Tower Hotel 1st Floor Grand Ballroom
o Attendees : 85 persons, including foreign
participants
- Foreign Mission :
42 (twenty Ambassadors from El Salvador, France, Spain,
etc.)
- Private sector : 33
(including Director of EUCCK)
-
Media : 10 (including Reuters, Kyodo News, Time
Magazine)
|
Agenda o 14:00¡14:05 Opening |
2. Key Points
- Keynote Speech: (http://www.unikorea.go.kr/en/)
- PowerPoint Presentation : (http://www.unikorea.go.kr/en/)
- Q&A on Policy Matters
¡¼Unification Policy¡½
In the past, there was an agreement between the two Koreas to discuss politics and diplomacy by way of establishing liaison offices in Seoul and Pyongyang. Will this still take place? (Babiker Ali Khalifa, Ambassador of Sudan)
Liaison offices between Seoul and Pyongyang will likely be possible when we enter the phase of a Korean Commonwealth.
Currently, it is yet premature to have mutual liaison offices between Seoul and Pyongyang, as North Korea seems unprepared to open up its country to the extent necessary to establish a liaison office in Pyongyang. (Minister of Unification's reply)
In order to have improvement in relations between the U.S. and North Korea, it is necessary to have the U.S. recognize the North through diplomatic relations, just as it did with China in the past. What is your opinion on this? (Babiker Ali Khalifa, ambassador of Sudan)
To improve U.S.-North Korea relations, the nuclear issue must be resolved first. Should the nuclear issue be resolved through progress in the Six Party Talks, one can expect an accelerated pace of improvement between the U.S. and North Korea. (Minister of Unification's reply)
I believe North Korea should comply with the international agreements on chemical weapons. What is the South Korean government's stance in regard to the North possessing chemical weapons? (Grace M. Kang, Visiting Professor, Seoul National University School of Law)
It is estimated that North Korea possesses approximately 3,000-5,000 tons of chemical weaponry. We fully agree with the view that North Korea should comply with international agreements such as the Chemical Weapons Convention (Shin Eon-Sang, Assistant Minister for Unification Policy's reply)
Are there any plans to leverage the economic assistance to North Korea for improving North Korea's human rights situation or the WMD issue? (Grace M. Kang, Visiting Professor, Seoul National University School of Law)
In consideration of the fact that we are in a military standoff situation with North Korea with nothing but the DMZ in between, our basic position is to achieve real improvements in North Korea's human rights situation through dialogue and patience, even as that process may take some time.
Rather than apply immediate pressure, we believe it's more important to gradually lay the foundation for improvements in North Korea's human rights and WMD issues through providing assistance.
On the other hand, we are also working to improve the human rights situation in the North in a roundabout way of publishing white papers on it's human rights situation and distributing it throughout the international community.(Shin Eon-Sang, Assistant Minister for Unification Policy's reply)
Is the recent Yongchon train explosion a simple accident? Was there any mention of the Yongchon accident during the recent Ministerial Level Talks? (Reuters reporter)
It is our understanding that the Yongchon accident is a simple train collision, as reported, thus speculation of it being a terror attack on Kim Jong-Il is groundless.
There had not been any special mention of the Yongchon accident nor request for aid during the recent Ministerial Talks other than the showing of gratitude toward South Korean assistance by the Chief Representative and Prime Minister during conversation and Welcoming Dinner. (Minister of Unification's reply)
I think North Korea's recent agreeing to military talks will prove to be a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations. How is the Ministry planning to utilize this new channel of dialogue for furthering North-South relations, and what is your assessment of North Korea's response to such initiatives? (Carlos Frota, Ambassador of Portugal)
Although there were many exchange and cooperation between the two Koreas in economics and societal areas, cooperation in military areas had relatively been lagging in comparison.
Considering that the two Koreas are in a military standoff situation, real improvement in inter-Korean relations can take place only when improved military exchange and cooperation balances out the progress in the economic and social spheres.
We are hoping to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula by way of the military talks, which we hope will relax tension and build trust. We hope to have North Korea attend the talks within the month. (Shin Eon-Sang, Assistant Minister for Unification Policy's reply)
What are the possibilities that North Korea's military will suddenly put a halt to progress in North-South relations? (Enrique Panes, Ambassador of Spain)
We believe that the North Korean top leadership's commitment toward improving North-South relations is solid, and the agreement to hold military talks, as mentioned during the Ministerial Talks, is a reflection of the will of North's top leadership.
Hence, although it is possible that the North Korean military may put forward a rather conservative stance, it would not have the authority to go against its leadership's will or prevent improvement in South-North relations. (Minister of Unification's reply)
¡¼Inter-Korean Talks¡½
In attending the military level talks with North Korea, what specific plans are there to bring about tension-reduction or trust-building? (Rodolfo Rodriguez, Ambassador of Argentina, Reuters reporter)
Among the agenda items for the upcoming military talks will be measures to decrease the possibility of accidental military clashes in both the West and East Seas.
In addition, basic steps in military level exchange will be discussed, as well as long-term issues such as the control and reduction of military spending. (Shin Eon-Sang, Assistant Minister for Unification Policy's reply)
What do you think is the reason why North Korea had agreed to the military talks at the last minute during the Ministerial Talks (Reuters reporter)
The North knows very well that we place much importance on military talks, thus they probably calculated that for the sake of quelling cynicism toward progress made in South-North relations, the talks needed to finish on more than just an agreement on the date for the next meeting.
In addition, it was probably necessary for North Korea to give a positive image toward international society as they were soon heading into the Six Party Talks. (Minister of Unification's reply)
¡¼Social and Cultural Exchange¡½
Is it true that North Korea is delaying the construction of the Keumkang Mountain meetings facility for separated families? (Koenraad Rouvroy, Ambassador of Belgium)
The Red Cross of both Koreas had agreed in November of last year to construct a meetings facility for separated families near Keumkang Mountain. The North had later agreed to the designs of the structure as submitted by the South Korean Red Cross.
Prior to commencing construction, we need geological surveys and measurements on the site and cooperation from the North. Now, we are currently waiting for Cooperation from North Korea. (Hong Jae-Hyung, Director General for Social and Cultural Exchange's reply)
I understand there is a campaign under way to allocate 1% of the National Budget toward helping North Korea. If so, is there a public consensus on this? (Francois Descoueyte, Ambassador of France)
The scale of North Korea assistance or any additional increase of it are matters to be decided after taking in to consideration the changes in level of military tension between the two Koreas as well as domestic public consensus.
Although the campaign to allocate 1% of National Budget to help North Korea is pursued by certain progressive persons, others feel it is excessive when considering our economic predicament.(Shin Eon-Sang, Assistant Minister for Unification Policy's reply)
Rather than supporting North Korea with rice and fertilizer on piecemeal basis, are there any plans to provide agricultural productivity increasing programs that would tackle the more fundamental roots of North Korea's food shortage? (Dato Abd. Rahman Hamid, Ambassador of Brunei)
Although we have been providing rice and fertilizer to North Korea on a humanitarian aid basis to assuage their food shortage, it is by no means a fundamental solution to their problem.
In order to tackle the fundamentals of the North's food shortage, it is necessary to provide methodology for increasing their productivity in areas of agricultural development and reconstruction.
Such assistance will have to be preceded by consultation with North Korea. (Hong Jae-Hyung, Director General for Social and Cultural Exchange's reply)
3. Miscellaneous
The audience included numerous foreign diplomats, including 20 Ambassadors, as well as persons from the private sector, all have expressed intense interest in inter-Korean affairs.
Most of the audience's interest concentrated on the results of the 14th Ministerial Talks as well as the upcoming military talks.
The event was covered by domestic media in KBS, YTN, MBN, and Arirang TV, as well as foreign correspondents from Reuters, Kyodo News, and Vietnam News.
