ROK and Inter-Korean relations
August 2005
-
National Cooperation Called for in S. Korea
Pyongyang, August 3 (KCNA) -- The south Korean
Buddhist Youth Association reportedly held a
meeting in Seoul on July 29 at which it called
for taking the lead in the struggle for peace
against war and for national cooperation. At the
meeting Chairman Kim Ik Sok and Secretary
General Jon Jun Ho of the organization and other
speakers stressed the need to declare the days
from August 1 to 16 as a period of devoting
oneself to peace and reunification and further
strengthen the organization's forces for
reunification.
-
North, South Co-produce TV Drama to Hit Air Next Year
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
The first episode of a television drama series co-produced by South and North Korea is expected to hit the air as early as August next year.
``Sayuksin,'' comprising 24 episodes each of 70 minutes in length, is now in production by South Korean television network KBS and North Korea's Chosun Central TV. The title refers to six loyal retainers who served King Tanjong during the Chosun Kingdom.
-
Cho Yong-pil to play Pyongyang
August 04, 2005 ? Cho Yong-pil, one of the most
celebrated singers in South Korea, will perform
on Aug. 23 in North Korea, becoming the second
well-known pop singer from the South to give a
solo concert in the communist country.
SBS, the producer of the concert, will air the
two-hour performance in a broadcast on the same
day.
The concert is scheduled to take place at Jung
Ju-yung Gymnasium in Pyongyang.
According to SBS, which has been negotiating
with a North Korean civic group since July 2004,
discussions about holding the concert were
suspended during the recent turmoil over North
Korea's nuclear weapons program.
"As the relationship between the two countries
improved recently, we finally reached an
agreement," said Ha Nam-shin, head of the South
and North Korea Cultural Exchange Program at SBS.
Following Lee Mi-ja, who played Pyongyang in
September 2002, Mr. Cho will be the second South
Korean pop star to perform in North Korea.
-
Vice-President of S. Korean Red Cross Here
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) -- Ri Se Ung, vice-
president of the south Korean Red Cross, and his
party arrived here Tuesday. They were met at the
airport by Choe Song Ik, vice-chairman of the
Central Committee of the DPRK Red Cross Society,
and officials concerned.
-
Leftist Independence Activists to Get Honors
By Seo Dong-shin
Staff Reporter
The government plans to confer orders of merit
on 47 left-wing independence activists for the
60th anniversary of National Liberation Day,
according to the Ministry of Patriots and
Veterans Affairs yesterday. National Liberation
Day is Aug. 15.
The ministry unveiled a list of 214 people who
will get state honors for independence
activities during the 1910-1945 Japanese
colonial period.
The list includes, among others, Kim San (1905-
1938), whose thoughts and activities as
communist and independence fighter are
heroically pictured in Nym Wales' book, titled
``Song of Arirang: A Korean Communist in the
Chinese Revolution.''
The Chinese Communist Party executed Kim for
alleged espionage in 1938, according to historic
records.
Hyon Chin-gon (1900-1943), a prominent novelist,
will receive a Presidential Medal, the ministry
said. Hyon erased the Japanese flag from the
uniform of Son Ki-jung, winner of the 1936
Berlin Olympics marathon race, in the picture of
a vernacular daily when he was serving as an
editor there.
-
Joint Press Release on 15th Inter-Korean
Ministerial Talks
1. The North and the South decided to dispatch
delegations of their authorities to the August
15 national joint functions to be held in the
area of the South side and hold a working
contact for this in Kaesong within July.
-
Kim Jong Il Receives South Korea's Presidential
Envoy
Pyongyang to Return to Six-Party Talks in July
If U.S. Recognizes DPRK: Kim Jong Il
-
Koreans Celebrate 5th Anniversary of Historic
June 15 Joint Declaration
"Grand National Festival for Reunification" Held
in Pyongyang
-
Pan-National Standing Body Organized for
Reunification Movement
"Declaration for National Reunification" Issued
-
Declaration for National Reunification
The June 15 joint declaration is a declaration
for national independence, one for peace against
war and one for great national unity that has
opened up a wide avenue for national
reunification before the Korean nation.
In the last five years, the Korean nation has
taken a giant stride toward national
reunification along the road paved by the joint
declaration.
-
Authorities of North and South Korea Vow to
Promote Cooperation
Members of the authorities of North and South
Korea hold their first "Joint Function of the
Authorities of the North and the South" on June
15 as one of the several events in the "Grand
National Festival for Reunification."
Senior officials of the governments and parties
of the North and the South Korean governments
held a joint meeting at the People's Palace of
Culture on June 15.
-
President of S. Korean Red Cross Visits N. Korea
South Korean Red Cross President Han Wan Sang
and his party paid an official visit to North
Korea from June 21 to 24.
Choe Song Ik, vice-chairman of the Central
Committee of the DPRK Red Cross Society, greeted
the party at the Pyongyang International Airport
-
Legacy of Father's Dictatorship Haunts Park
By Lee Jin-woo
Staff Reporter
For opposition leader Park Geun-hye, the legacy
of her father's 18-year reign as president is a
both a blessing and an inescapable curse.
Supporters like her because she reminds them of
how former President Park Chung-hee lifted South
Korea from the ruins of war to a position of
economic power.
But critics view her as a shadow of the
dictatorial rule that began with Park's 1962
coup.
-
Joint Press Release on Grand National Festival
Published
Pyongyang July 31(KCNA) -- A joint press release
was published on July 30 by the Preparatory
Committee for Joint Functions of Koreans in the
North and the South and Abroad to Implement the
June 15 Joint Declaration. It said:
A working-level meeting of the preparatory
committee was held in Kaesong from July 29 to
30, Juche 94 (2005).
It was participated in by representatives of the
preparatory committees of the three sides.
-
Inter-Korean Joint Press Release Issued
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) -- DPRK Foreign
Minister Paek Nam Sun staying in Laos to
participate in the 12th ministerial meeting of
ASEAN on July 28 met Pan Ki Mun, south Korean
minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to
exchange their views on a series of issues of
mutual concern and issued a joint press release.
The joint press release appreciated the
successes achieved by both sides in the recent
efforts to realize inter-Korean reconciliation,
unity, exchange and cooperation and reaffirmed
that it is the fundamental cornerstone for the
peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and
the rest of the region to steadily develop the
inter-Korean relations in the spirit of the June
15 North-South Joint Declaration.
-
Researcher Quits Over Ideological Conflict
By Seo Dong-shin, Reuben Staines
Staff Reporters
A researcher at a state-funded institute for
unification policy said Monday that he was
pressured to resign last month for criticizing
the government's policy toward North Korea.
In an informal and hastily arranged news
conference, Hong Kwan-hee, 52, told reporters
that he quit his research post at the Korea
Institute for National Unification (KINU)
because the government limited his ``freedom of
research and expression.''
He claimed he was targeted after publishing a
paper criticizing the two Koreas' June 15 Joint
Declaration in the May/June issue of Minjok
Chungnon magazine.
However, the KINU denied Hong's accusation,
saying he resigned voluntarily after being
warned for breaking institute regulations.
But Hong's article argued the declaration has
only helped North Korea to undermine the South's
alliance with its closest ally, the United
States. He also said that any joint statement in
the future must include clauses on free
democracy and human rights.
-
Rockers drop trousers, raise public ire
August 01, 2005 ? In an apparent first for
Korean television, two rock musicians exposed
themselves during a live broadcast Saturday
afternoon, leading to a public uproar and an
apology from the MBC network. The musicians are
being tested for drugs.
-
42-Day Peace Festival Opens Near DMZ on Monday
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Kyonggi Province will launch a 42-day international festival on Monday to
celebrate the 60th anniversary of the nation's liberation from Japan,
showcasing cultural performances, seminars and exhibitions near the
inter-Korean border.
``The Peace Festival 2005: Beyond the DMZ'' will take place at various sites in
Paju city, including the Imjingak Observatory overlooking North Korea, through
Sept. 11.
Return to ROK and Inter-Korean relations page