Group In North Stirs More Ire

An inscription lauding the "spirit of Mangyongdae," the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung's birthplace, provided the latest tempest from a South Korean delegation's attendance at the Grand Festival for National Reunification in Pyongyang.

A South Korean representative of the National Alliance for Unification wrote in a visitors' book Saturday during a tour of Mangyongdae, "Let us inherit the spirit of Mangyongdae to realize reunification."

The alliance also issued a statement Saturday asserting that the North Korean vision of reunification, a federation, does not pose any problem － a direct contradiction of the position of the South Korean government that authorized the group to make the visit.

Launched last March, the coalition of civic groups is made up of representatives from the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, Green Korea, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Democratic Labor Party. Their goal was to create a unified civilian mass movement for reunification.

Prosecutors plan to investigate the alliance representative for possible violation of the National Security Law once he returns to the South.

The South Korean delegation reprimanded the action of some of its members and expressed regret.

A coalition spokesman explained its position that the Monument to the Three Charters of National Reunification is legitimate, as it promotes reunification by federation, which is the policy of the Pyongyang regime. He expressed anger at the South Korean government's contemplation of criminal action for the group's participation in ceremonies held there. "The National Security Law should be abolished first," he said.

Meanwhile, National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il returned to Pyongyang, ending his 20-day visit to Russia, the Central Committee of Workers' Party reported Saturday. It is still unknown whether he will accede to the proposal made by the South Korean delegation for a dinner party on Monday.

The fiasco over the disobedience of some members of the South Korean delegation is being analyzed as the result of the Seoul government's loose policies toward the North and its own internal discord over Pyongyang's proposal to se-cure reunification through a federation.

The South Korean government is criticized for having hurriedly sanctioned the delegation's visit to the North without due popular discussion or parliamentary endorsement, because of its obsessive desire to have Mr. Kim visit Seoul.

"The fiasco at the celebrations was expected," Lee Dong-bok, professor at Myongji University. "North Korea invited the South Korean civic groups for propaganda purposes."

by Lee Chul-hee