2 Koreas agree on pact to step up maritime exchanges

Despite the growing tension over North Korea's nuclear program, the two Koreas have initialed a new maritime agreement that sets up sea routes between southern and northern ports.

The tentative pact would also allow ships to use radios for communications in each other's territorial waters and to use other ports in each other's jurisdiction in case of emergencies at sea.

The Unification Ministry announced yesterday that the two Koreas agreed to the 15-point understanding in working-level talks on maritime cooperation. The meeting was held in Pyeongyang from Wednesday to Saturday.

The talks were held and the agreement reached despite the South Korean government's pledge on Dec. 13 to freeze all contacts with the North until at least the end of the year, except for those dealing with humanitarian issues.

But a spokesman at the Unification Ministry said yesterday, "We are pursuing what has already been scheduled, but we are not planning any new meetings."

"Isn't it important to leave all of our existing channels open?" he asked.

The new maritime pact, which must still be confirmed at higher levels of the two governments, applies only to ships flying the flags of the two countries. Other ships will not be able to use the routes.

Seven ports in each country were designated under the agreement to receive the other's ships. The destination ports for the new maritime services will be Incheon, Gunsan, Yeosu, Busan, Ulsan, Pohang and Sokcho in South Korea, and Nampo, Haeju, Goseong, Wonsan, Heungnam, Cheongjin and Najin in North Korea.

Last year, about 16 percent of the vessels that traveled between the two Koreas under informal arrangements were South Korean ships.

North Korea's government broadcasting company also reported the agreement. "The agreement stated that the two Koreas' vessels would travel under equity in each other's territorial waters," North Korean Central Television, a state-run news outlet, said. The North also added a political meaning to the maritime cooperative measure. "The agreement is to implement the spirit of the inter-Korean June 15 Joint Communique," the communist state media said.

Implementation of the new pact appears, however, to be some time in the future. The two Koreas will hold another round of working-level talks in March, a Unification Ministry official said, to set a date for the beginning of ship visits under the pact. The agreement must then be confirmed by higher-level exchanges.

by Lee Young-jong