ROK and Inter-Korean relations November 2005

ROK and Inter-Korean relations

November 2005

S. Korea Polarized Over NK Human Rights
By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter Politicians and the public in South Korea are deeply split over Seoul's abstention from voting on the resolution on North Korea's human rights situation at the United Nations. The resolution passed the U.N. social and humanitarian committee Thursday with 84 in favor, 22 against and 62 abstentions. It will be sent to a plenary session of the U.N. General Assembly, which normally accepts the vote of the panel. The resolution, presented by the European Union (EU), calls on the Stalinist North to stop alleged human rights abuses. Explaining Seoul's stance on the issue in New York, Shin Kak-soo, South Korean delegate to the U.N., said that South Korea shares the concerns of the international community, but it has other policy objectives toward the North that are vital for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. [Camouflage]
Seoul Abstains From NK Human Rights Vote
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter South Korea abstained from voting on North Korea's human rights situation in a session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Thursday. The EU-led resolution, submitted on Nov. 2, passed the session in the third committee, which deals with social, humanitarian and cultural issues. A majority vote was necessary to adopt the resolution. Before the voting started, the South Korean delegation explained that it also attaches great importance on resolving the North's human rights situation. But the delegation added that South Korea needs to pursue more important issues, such as reconciliation with North Korea and the peaceful settlement of Pyongyang's nuclear programs.
Series of Anti-APEC Rallies Expected During Summit
PUSAN (Yonhap) _ A series of anti-APEC rallies are scheduled to take place in Pusan today, when U.S. President George W. Bush and other regional leaders open their two-day summit, according to South Korean civic group officials. Clashes between protesters and the police may happen, as the police warned of stern action if demonstrators veer from pre-sanctioned rally areas and try to march to summit venues. A coalition of 35 civic groups based in Pusan plans to gather up to 100,000 protesters today to oppose Bush's presence at the summit and free trade policies, said Park Jin-hyun, a spokesman for the Anti-APEC Pusan Civic Action.
Former envoy to U.S. grilled by prosecutors
November 17, 2005 ? Seoul prosecutors yesterday questioned Hong Seok-hyun, the former South Korean ambassador to the United States, in connection with allegations of illegal Samsung Group political contributions to presidential candidates in 1997. The investigation was prompted by a petition from a civic group after an audio tape of an illegally bugged conversation surfaced last summer. The conversation reportedly included Mr. Hong and a Samsung executive discussing such donations. Mr. Hong, also the former publisher of the JoongAng Ilbo, appeared at the prosecution yesterday morning, telling reporters he intended to cooperate with the authorities.
Hong Seok-hyun Summoned for Questioning
By Kim Tong-hyung Staff Reporter The prosecution summoned former Korean Ambassador to Washington Hong Seok-hyun Wednesday and questioned him over his alleged involvement in Samsung Group's provision of slush funds to presidential candidates ahead of the 1997 election. Hong, 56, who resigned from his post as ambassador in September after just seven months, is suspected of relaying illegal campaign funds from Samsung to politicians in the past election. The former ambassador is also suspected of being involved in Samsung's alleged bribery of prosecutors ahead of the Chusok holidays in 1997.
Detention of Ex-Spy Chiefs Angers DJ
By Lee Jin-woo Staff Reporter The detention of two former intelligence chiefs, who were allegedly involved in eavesdropping scandals during the Kim Dae-jung administration, has enraged Kim, former president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and his aides.
Ex-spy chiefs jailed in wiretap investigation
November 16, 2005 ? The Seoul Central District Court last night issued detention warrants sought by the prosecution and naming two former intelligence agency heads. The warrants were to have been executed before midnight yesterday; both men have denied the charges. This is the first such action against heads of an agency that, in Korea's authoritarian past, was almost a law unto itself. Its influence, though, has been greatly curbed in the last two decades. The request by prosecutors to detain Shin Kun and Lim Dong-won in connection with charges that they ordered illegal wiretaps on the conversations of Koreans had drawn criticism from the Blue House and the Uri Party, although Chun Jung-bae, the justice minister, defended the decision to do so as "legitimate." Both men headed the agency during the Kim Dae-jung administration from 1998-2003.
Ex-Intelligence Chiefs Put to Jail
By Kim Tong-hyung Staff Reporter The Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for two former intelligence chiefs who for their alleged involvement in the spy agency's illegal wiretapping operations during the 1998-2003 Kim Dae-jung government. The court charged former Unification Minister Lim Dong-won, 71, who directed the National Intelligence Service (NIS) from 1999 to 2001, and Shin Gunn, 64, who succeeded Lim as director through 2003, for directing intelligence agents to spy on high-profile figures such as politicians, businessmen and journalists during their tenures.
Noam Chomsky Society Established
The Korean Society for Chomsky Studies holds its launching ceremony and first academic conference at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in eastern Seoul on Saturday. Around 200 scholars around the nation have joined the interdisciplinary academic society to cover the life and studies of the American linguist Noam Chomsky. Chomsky is the creator of the theory of generative grammar and has written numerous influential books on the subject. A professor of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chomsky is also known for his political writings and his criticisms of U.S. foreign policies.
Digging Starts to Recover Remains of Silmido
By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter A team of military personnel and civilian experts on Tuesday began unearthing a site at a cemetery in Kyonggi Province, where the bodies of members of the so-called Silmido Unit are believed to have been secretly buried 34 years ago. The excavation came as the military fact-fining committee, which pledged to shed light on the military's wrongdoings under previous authoritarian governments, included the Silmido incident on its investigation list last September. [Human rights] [Assassination]
Time for the North to reciprocate
[LETTERS to the editor] I read an interesting article on how the Ministry of Unification is willing to take out a loan to continue aiding North Korea (Editorial: "Financing aid to the North," Nov. 8). This is nonsense. The South Korean government must not be oblivious of the fact that there are just too many people waiting for government help on our side. Thousands of people are hungry and penniless, and desperately need financial aid. It would be a great paradox to help feed North Koreans with a loan while leaving South Koreans to starve
Wiretap charge hits 2 ex-aides
November 15, 2005 ? Prosecutors asked a court for detention warrants yesterday against Lim Dong-won and Shin Kun, who headed the government's intelligence agency in the Kim Dae- jung administration. They were charged with involvement in illegal domestic surveillance of Koreans during the Kim Dae-jung administration, from 1998 to 2003. Prosecutors said the two men controlled wiretapping efforts here in violation of privacy laws.
Park Joins Seoul Mayoral Race
By Lee Jin-woo Staff Reporter Rep. Park Jin, left, of the largest opposition Grand National Party, who is a candidate in the Seoul mayoral election next year, stands side-by- side with Goh Kun, a leading hopeful in the 2007 presidential election, during an event celebrating the publication of Park's autobiographic book on dieting, at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap Rep. Park Jin of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP), who has drawn keen attention by losing more than 18 kilograms in just three months by starting what he called a ``dolphin diet,'' announced Monday his bid for the party's internal race for Seoul mayoralty.
NK Boats Cross Sea Border
SEOUL (Yonhap) . Nine North Korean fishing boats and one patrol boat crossed early Sunday morning into South Korean waters in the Yellow Sea, but returned to the North after the South Korean Navy's warning, the military said. After the fishing boats sailed
12th Reunion of Separated Families and Relatives Ends
Mt. Kumgang Resort, November 10 (KCNA) -- The 12th reunion of separated families and relatives that began at Mt. Kumgang Resort came to an end today. Separated families and relatives from the north side had reunions with their counterparts from the south side in the wake of the latter's reunion with the former from Nov. 5 to 7. They had a group reunion on Nov 8.
Former envoy returns here to face prosecution questions
November 14, 2005 ? Hong Seok-hyun, the former Korean ambassador to Washington, returned to Korea on Saturday and told reporters he expects to be summoned by prosecutors this coming week and would give them a detailed statement. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said Thursday that it would summon Mr. Hong to answer questions on an alleged illegal political funding scandal. The former chairman of the Joong-Ang Ilbo allegedly discussed distributing campaign funds to candidates during the 1997 presidential campaign with a Samsung Group executive, Lee Hak- soo. This conversation was illegally recorded by the nation's intelligence agency. Mr. Hong resigned as ambassador in September due to the scandal, and had been staying in the U.S. In July, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, a civic group, asked the prosecution to investigate Mr. Hong, based on the illegal tape. The prosecution has finished questioning other participants involved in the scandal, including Mr. Lee. by Moon Byung-joo
Hong Returns Home to Face Summons
By Kim Tong-hyung Staff Reporter Former Korean Ambassador to Washington Hong Seok- hyun returned to Seoul Saturday to face a summons over his alleged involvement in a campaign fund scandal. The prosecution said Sunday it will call in Hong this week to inquire into whether he played a role in Samsung Group's alleged provision of illegal campaign funds to presidential candidates ahead of the 1997 election.
North's fishing boats cross Yellow Sea line
November 14, 2005 ? Nine North Korean fishing boats yesterday trespassed across the maritime inter-Korean border in the Yellow Sea, the Northern Limit Line, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced. The small North Korean fishing craft sailed about 11 miles south of the boundary between 2:30 a.m. and 5 a.m., and one North Korean patrol boat chased them about 3 miles into South Korean waters in an attempt to corral them. After broadcast warnings from the South Korean Navy, the North Korean patrol boat responded tersely, "We know the situation. Do not fire." The patrol boat pulled back after about 40 minutes, and the other fishing boats followed. The last boat re-crossed the line at 7:30 a.m. An official at Seoul's military headquarters said the intrusions were probably innocent and stemmed from a lack of navigation equipment.
Abductee is allowed a reunion
Kidnapped fisherman greets mother after 18 years apart November 09, 2005 ? MOUNT KUMGANG, North Korea ? A South Korean fisherman abducted to North Korea was reunited with his mother after nearly two decades of life in the communist country. The tearful meeting was a part of the two Koreas' separated family reunions at the mountain resort here. Kim Jong-sim, 74, told her first son of his father's death five years ago as she burst into tears. Jeong Il-nam, 50, unsuccessfully tried to hold back his tears. His North Korean wife tried to calm her mother-in-law. The scene, however surreal, was a reflection of the complicated issues in North-South Korea relations since the turn of the century when Seoul began serious efforts to bring a thaw to relations between the two Koreas. Tokyo has been making strenuous efforts to rescue its own citizens kidnapped to North Korea, and Seoul's reluctance to risk North Korean ire by doing the same has triggered criticism in the South. Mr. Jeong was one of the 12 crewmen aboard the Dongjin, which was seized by a North Korean patrol boat on Jan. 15, 1987. The North's Red Cross said a week after the abduction that it would return the crew to the South, but the promise was never kept. In 1998, North Korea announced that Dongjin was a spy ship and said the crew had "voluntarily" asked to stay in the North. The families of the 12 fishermen organized a lobby in 2000 and filed a suit against the government last year. Mr. Jeong, who met his mother with a North Korean official beside them, was the 11th South Korean abductee allowed by the North to attend a reunion, and the fourth Dongjin crew member to do so. At yesterday's reunion, 99 South Koreans were allowed to see 200 North Korean family members.
DPRK Red Cross Delegation Leaves for Seoul
Pyongyang, November 8 (KCNA) -- A delegation of the DPRK Red Cross Society headed by Paek Yong Ho, vice-chairman of the C.C., the DPRK Red Cross Society, left here today to attend the 15th general meeting and the meeting of the council of delegates of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to be held in Seoul. It was seen off at the airport by Min Pyong Gwan, secretary general of the C.C., the DPRK Red Cross Society, and officials concerned.
Abductee to NK Reunited With Mother
By Seo Dong-shin & Joint Press Corps Staff Reporter A South Korean woman, named Kim Chong-shim, right, holds tight her son, Chung Il-nam, who is believed to have been abducted to the North, during the family reunion at Mt. Kumgang in North Korea, Tuesday. / Yonhap MT. KUMGANG _ A South Korean fisherman who is believed to have been abducted by a North Korean patrol boat 18 years ago met his mother during the second round of the 12th family reunion sessions that started here Tuesday. Kim Chong-shim, 72, of South Cholla Province in the South, is a member of the second batch of 145 South Koreans who are visiting the mountain resort for a reunion with their long-lost family members residing in the North. Her son, Chung Il-nam, now 49, was allegedly abducted near the West Sea border to the North in January 1987, while aboard on Tongjin No. 27 along with 11 other fishermen. The South Korean government believes they were kidnapped by North Korea, but the communist country has been claiming the fishermen crossed the border voluntarily.
Test Fire of Air-to-Air Missile Successful
By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter A test fire of the AIM-9L air-to-air missile on A-50, an upgraded version of the country's supersonic jet trainer T-50, has been successful, proving the light attacker's efficiency, the Air Force said Tuesday. In the test fire at an air base in Sachon in South Kyongsang Province, the A-50 successfully hit an unmanned target 1.5 miles away from the aircraft in the air with the sophisticated air-to-air missile, it said in a statement. The AIM-9L, dubbed ``Dog Fighting,'' is the supersonic, heat-seeking, air-to-air missile carried by an aircraft. It is equipped with a high-explosive warhead and an active infrared guidance system. ``This successful test fire and flight has proven the maneuverability and high performance of the A-50,'' an Air Force spokesman said. 11-08-2005 19:56 [Military balance]
NK Red Cross Delegation En Route for Seoul
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- A North Korean delegation for an international Red Cross general assembly in Seoul left for the South Korean capital Tuesday, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported. According to the report, the delegation, headed by Paek Yong-ho, deputy chief of the North Korean Red Cross, left Pyongyang for Beijing. North Korea observers here said the delegation is expected to stay in the Chinese capital until Thursday, one day before the start of the meeting of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Seoul. Some direct flights have been used between the Koreas following the joint declaration of peace and reconciliation at the historic inter-Korean summit in 2000, but a regular direct flight service has yet to begin.
Teachers' union presses on with anti-APEC class
November 08, 2005 ? The Korea Teachers and Educational Workers Union said yesterday that it would have a special welcome for the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation forum next week: Its member teachers will hold special classes denouncing the group, globalization and the United States in their elementary and secondary school classrooms. In a statement yesterday, the union asserted that the classes would give students only the "minimum" information they needed about the APEC meeting and the group. "The government is promoting the APEC forum as if it will boost globalization and the domestic economy, but it is the naked truth that people around the world are fiercely against globalization and President George W. Bush. We have to explain to students why there are people demonstrating in Busan," the statement said. The union's spokesman, Han Man-jung, noted that the video is a "cleaned-up" version of one that was shown in Busan last month and stirred an outcry after it was posted on the Internet. "The new teaching materials do not contain parodies, curse words, or slang," he said. "Of course, President Bush's bad policies and how he makes war are still included." It was not clear, however, if the video, like the original version, would attack Mr. Roh. The Education Ministry said it would review the contents of the video, which the union said it would finish editing by tomorrow. "Even without foul language, any material that leans toward one ideology is inappropriate for educational purposes. If that is the case, we still will ban the video," a ministry official said, adding that teachers who defied the ban could be punished. [Human rights] [Anti-Americanism]
Financing aid to the North
EDITORIALS
Controversy is heating up over the Unification Ministry's plan to resort to issuing government bonds to finance aid to North Korea. Supporters say, "We have no other choice, if we are to maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula," while critics say, "It is absurd to go into debt to help North Korea when the domestic economy is also in difficulty." There seems to be public sympathy for basic humanitarian aid for North Korea and mutually beneficial inter-Korean economic cooperation programs such as the development of the Kaesong Industrial Complex. If the two Koreas were suddenly unified with the North in its current condition, the South would not be able to cope with the unification cost. In that respect, economic improvement in the North is needed. But, regarding the details of the aid and economic cooperation programs, which cost astronomical amounts, there are conflicting opinions among South Koreans. [Collapse] [Unification cost]
Separated Families Reunited in NK
MOUNT KUMGANG, North Korea (Yonhap) ? Separated family members from the two Koreas exchanged liquor, food and other types of local specialties during the second day of their reunion here on Sunday. After a group reunion of all participants Saturday at the mountain's Onjonggak Rest House, a total of 100 North Koreans took buses to their South Korean relatives' lodging, the Haegumgang Hotel, and met their long-lost family members in their hotel rooms. Some of the 441 South Koreans warmly welcomed them from the balconies of their rooms, waving to the people getting off the buses. During the reunion, the North Koreans gave paintings, liquor, health foods and other local specialties as presents, while the South Koreans presented their northern relatives with rings, jackets and underclothes.
Ex-Presidents' Medals May Be Stripped
By Lee Hyo-sik Staff Reporter The government is considering stripping former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo of their military honors following the revision of the law governing state decorations, officials said on Monday. The Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs said that it has asked the Ministry of Government Legislation and a fact-finding committee of the Defense Ministry to evaluate the legality of awarding military medals to former presidents and 79 others for their roles in military coup in December 1979 and the Kwangju civilian massacre in May 1980
Rights panel lags on North, critics charge
November 05, 2005 ? Through September, the National Human Rights Commission only used 41 percent of the budget allocated for research on North Korean human rights issues this year, a National Assembly audit found. The commission only used 53 percent of the budget for the same purpose last year. The budget for next year is set at 148 million won ($141,000), similar to the levels for this year and last year. In a report, the Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee said that despite various forums, international symposiums and research activities on the human rights situation in the North, the commission had failed to provide a comprehensive survey of its findings. Opposition parties are attributing the lack of spending to the Roh administration's policy of refraining from confronting Pyongyang over human rights issues.
North's new puppet state
[LETTERS to the editor]
Since the division of Korea in 1945 North Korea has claimed itself to be the "legitimate" Korea and South Korea and its government "puppets" of the imperialist Americans. This line of thinking holds some currency with the hyper- nationalistic, (usually) younger South Koreans and other confused segments of South Korean society who resent the perception of a master- servant relationship with the United States. The current South Korean President, Roh Moo Hyun, vowed during his 2002 presidential election campaign not to "kowtow" to the United States. Although he hasn't been totally successful with that pledge, he instead "kowtows" to the North Korean government. He and the ruling Uri Party use every opportunity to please their new master, Kim Jong-il. [Bizarre]
Union faces criticism over ideology
November 05, 2005 ? [First in a series] Following the furious public criticism of the ideologically biased classes of the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers Union, the JoongAng Ilbo is running a series of articles that offer a closer look into the past and present of the union. ? Ed. When it was launched in 1989, the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers Union had the lofty vision of pursuing "true education." The launch itself made big headlines, as public school teachers had formed the union illegally. The union was based on a group called the Association of Teachers Nationwide for Democratic Education, formed in 1987. This group pursued "teaching to promote the democratization of education, and education for the nation." Cheong Jin-gon, the founding member, said, "We gathered our strength from our no-bribes-from-parents, no-corporal-punishment stance and from proper teaching."
Today, it has developed into a 95,000-member nationwide group. The left-leaning union these days has again surfaced as a headline-maker, but this time, it has nothing to do with its lofty visions of 16 years ago. The headlines are over a video that the union recently prepared to be used as teaching material, espousing leftist rhetoric against globalization and the United States. [human rights]
580 S. Koreans to Visit NK for Reunions
By Seo Dong-shin Staff Reporter Red Cross of South and North Korea will hold the 12th round of face-to-face reunions of family members separated by the inter-Korean border bisecting the Korean Peninsula, at Mt. Kumgang in North Korea, from today through Thursday. The first batch of some 440 South Koreans will enter the North today and meet with about 100 North Korean family members at a hotel at Mt. Kumgang.
Former Korean Spy Lays Bare Covert Operations
By Kim Hyung-jin SEOUL (Yonhap) _ For most of his neighbors, Kim Dong-sok, 82, was just one stubborn-looking man walking with a cane until he published a memoir last week revealing what he did during the Korean War as a South Korean spy. As the commander of a South Korean counter- intelligence military unit, called HID, Kim claims in the book that he led some 260 covert infiltration and espionage missions into North Korea during the three-year war which ended in 1953. In a recent interview at his home in southern Seoul, Kim said his missions in North Korea ranged from assassinating and kidnapping communist leaders to collecting intelligence. "In terms of spy activities, I'm sure I was the best," Kim said as a matter-of-fact. "I infiltrated the enemy lines about 260 times by either parachuting from planes or sailing by boat." His book, titled "This man, Kim Dong-sok," revealed some untold Korean War episodes such as the kidnapping of a top North Korean military officer and an assassination attempt on the then North Korean leader, Kim Il-sung, father of current leader Kim Jong-il.
A few days after MacArthur's personal comment on Dean, Kim said he, along with four fellow agents, infiltrated into eastern North Korea and captured Ri Young-hee, the commanding general of the North's 17th army division. It is the first time that the abduction of a general-grade North Korean officer during the war has been unveiled. "I took him to the U.S. military. It took only 15 minutes for them to force Ri to spill everything," Kim said. "Soon afterwards, Ri's division suffered massive aerial bombardment."
The 2nd U.S. Infantry Division in South Korea subsequently designated Dec. 16 as "Governor Kim's Day." Kim was once appointed by the South Korean government to serve as a nominal governor of a North Korean province, a symbolic move by Seoul to promote its unification drive. Kim "has been a hero in his passionate resistance to communist aggression; a lifelong patriot of the Korean people; a faithful friend of America and its soldiers deployed to the Republic of Korea," the U.S. division said in an acknowledgment on Kim's Day. In 2002, the U.S. division built a memorial hall in honor of Kim. [Terrorism] [Korean war events] [Pro-Americanism]
Hong Seok-hyun to Return Home Around Nov. 10
Former South Korean Ambassador to Washington Hong Seok-hyun will return home around next Thursday from the U.S., local broadcaster YTN reported Wednesday. The prosecution called on him twice to return to Seoul for questioning on his alleged involvement in the eavesdropping scandal, but he has not responded to the request. Hong was said to have delivered money from the Samsung Group to Lee Hoi-chang, then presidential candidate of the opposition Grand National Party for the 1997 election, when he worked as head of a Samsung-affiliated newspaper JoongAng Ilbo, according to ceased audiotapes. 11-02-2005 21:36
Entry of 1,000 NGO Activists Banned Ahead of APEC
SEOUL (Yonhap) ? South Korea's police agency said Wednesday it has temporarily banned the entry to South Korea of almost 1,000 people from foreign non-governmental organizations, in a tightening of the country's security ahead of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. The National Police Agency said it has banned 998 members of 20 overseas non-governmental organizations from entering the country as they have criminal records for participating in antiglobalization demonstrations. [human rights] [Double standards]

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