ROK open to talks on sanctions, tours

The Republic of Korea's Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae said on Wednesday that Seoul would be able to talk with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea about economic sanctions and a resumption of tours to Mount Kumgang during the upcoming senior-level inter-Korean dialogue.

"The May 24 measures and Mount Kumgang tours can be discussed if the high-level contact is held. All can be on the dialogue table," Ryoo said. He added that it would be important for the two countries to overcome the issues through dialogue.

The DPRK has demanded the lifting of the so-called May 24 sanctions imposed by Seoul in 2010 after the ROK Navy corvette Cheonan sank in waters near the disputed western sea border. It has since banned all inter-Korean exchanges except for those connected to the Kaesong industrial zone in the DPRK's border town and some humanitarian aid programs.

Opposition lawmakers called for the lifting of the sanctions or an expansion of inter-Korean exchanges - a "backdoor" lifting - saying such action would be key to peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Seoul has insisted that the Cheonan sinking, which claimed 46 soldiers' lives, was caused by a DPRK torpedo attack. Pyongyang has repeatedly denied such claims.

Pyongyang also has called for a resumption of tours to the Mount Kumgang resort on the DPRK's southeast coast. The tour, launched in 1998, was halted in July 2008 when a ROK female tourist was shot dead by a DPRK soldier after venturing into an off-limits area.

Calls for tours came after Hwang Pyong-so, the DPRK's second-in-command, visited Seoul on Saturday to attend the closing ceremony of the Incheon Asian Games. Hwang was accompanied by Choe Ryong-hae and Kim Yang-gon, secretaries of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.

During the visit, the three officials agreed to hold a second round of high-level talks with Seoul sometime between late October and early November.

(China Daily 10/09/2014 page11)