Truth of much ado about "remittance to north" clarified
KCNA
Pyongyang, March 10 (KCNA) -- The Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee (KAPPC), a direct party cooperating with the Hyundai Group of South Korea, issued a detailed report on March 9 to denounce the anti-DPRK hostile forces in South Korea for defiling the cooperation that has been underway between non-governmental organizations in the north and the south over what they call "case of remittance to the north" and unreasonably trying to link even the historic June 15 North-South Summit Meeting to it.
It says:
The ultra-right conservatives in South Korea, though not well informed of the economic cooperation between KAPPC and Hyundai, floated the wild rumor that "the north requested 1 billion U.S. dollar-fund" and "there was a secret agreement or a memorandum related to the summit talks," etc. in a bid to make their absurd assertion sound plausible.
Dismissing this as a sheer fabrication, the report continued:
Firstly, the Hyundai's cooperation representing the peculiarities of the north-south relations deserves the nation's appreciation and the issue of "remittance to the north" can never be subject to legal action.
As already pointed out in the agreement between the KAPPC and Hyundai and recognized by the public at home and abroad, the north-south relations are an internal issue of the nation and, at the same time, an issue that assumes double nature as the north and the south live separated. The Koreans, though a homogeneous nation, are in the relationship of peculiar nature as there still exists the foreign forces-imposed atmosphere of confrontation.
The north side allowed Hyundai to use Mt. Kumgang, the famous mountain of Korea, and the Kaesong Industrial Zone, a scenic spot with many historical relics, and granted to it business right in railways, power, telecommunications and other key industrial fields, something unimaginable, judged by common sense.
The Hyundai side provided a huge amount of food aid to the northerners who suffered natural disasters out of humanitarianism and compatriotism and donated over 1,000 head of cattle to be used for agriculture and stockbreeding.
It is quite natural for the two parties to have a financial transaction as the cooperation between them assumes the form of economic deal based on ensuring profitability and financial guarantee. Both sides, therefore, can have any option of financial transaction including prepayment or security, etc. if necessary.
As a direct dealer with the Hyundai side we are of the view that the whole nation should highly appreciate the cooperation rendered by the Hyundai for national reconciliation and unity and its praiseworthy deed should in no way be incriminated to meet the partisan interests and strategy of anti-reunification forces.
Secondly, the grand national party and other ultra-right conservatives in South Korea should immediately stop its confrontation racket to use the inter-Korean issue for attaining its political and strategic goals and apologize to the nation for it.
As far as the fiction of "remittance to the north" is concerned, the GNP is not in a position to say anything about it.
Frankly Speaking, since long before the emergence of the "civilian government" the GNP suggested high-level contacts to the north through various channels. It even said that if the north side accepted its request, it would offer us not only tens of billions of dollars but everything we wanted without any limit to items and size of aid.
With the presidential election at hand last year, the GNP sent a secret envoy to the north. He said: The GNP will other the north more positive and bigger aid than what the present "government" does if Ri Hoe Chang takes office. He added the GNP's attack on the north policy of the present "government" and "ruling party" is aimed to take power. He informed the north of the GNP's on-going revision of its north policy from absolute reciprocity to flexible reciprocity.
It is difficult at the moment for the north to disclose the secret of the GNP's dispatch of the secret envoy taking the peculiar nature of the north-south relations into due consideration.
The racket over the "remittance to the north" kicked up by the GNP and other ultra-right conservatives in South Korea is neither for the sake of the nation nor to meet the "state interests."
As South Korean media commented, it is nothing but an expression of the GNP's anger at its defeat in the "presidential election" held toward the end of last year and a desperate effort to prevent the party from being totally divided and revamp it till the general election slated for 2004.
Thirdly, as a back-stage wirepuller of the farce of "remittance to the north" the U.S. should admit its despicable crime and stop inciting north-south confrontation at once.
Displeased with the process of reconciliation and peace on the Korean Peninsula, the U.S. has worked hard overtly and covertly to prevent the KAPPC and Hyundai from starting the tour of Mt. Kumgang since its very beginning.
The U.S. moves to hamstring the tour of Mt. Kumgang reached a more serious phase after the emergence of the Bush administration.
In November 2000 the U.S. instructed the U.S. Forces commander and other brasshats in South Korea to force the Hyundai Group to stop the tour of Mt. Kumgang under the pretext that "there is apprehension as to the diversion of Hyundai's fund into a military purpose by the north." This was reported by the Japanese Sankei Shimbun on February 2, 2001.
The Hyundai had been recognized as the greatest conglomerate in South Korea till the end of 1999. But it broke up into several companies due to financial difficulties and is now compelled to take its hands off the business for the tour of Mt. Kumgang. All this is attributable to the U.S. which put financial pressure on Hyundai through the banking institutions under its control.
The "case of remittance to the north", an issue of public focus in South Korea, is a product of this base operation of the U.S.
The report called on the South Korean authorities, political parties and organizations and Koreans at home and abroad to clearly see through the nature and truth of the ruckus over "remittance to the north" kicked up by the U.S. imperialists and ultra-right conservatives in South Korea and resolutely frustrate it to boost the inter-Korean relations and non-governmental cooperation to meet the interests of the nation.
