Fiasco in Pyongyang
Published: 17 Jun. 2007, 21:43
North Korea turned the celebration into a disaster as it prohibited Lawmaker Park Gye-dong, a member of the Grand National Party, from entering the VIP stand, abruptly breaking the original agreement.
They also prevented South Korean journalists from sending articles regarding the comment of a South Korean delegate urging the second inter-Korean summit.
North Korean authorities even told South Korean journalists that they would have to go back to Seoul unless they complied with the censorship.
All of this clearly shows that the nature of the North Korean regime lies in dogmatism and blackmail.
North Korea deceived us regarding the seating of the GNP members at the VIP stand.
At first they agreed to have the GNP members visit North Korea and sit at the VIP stand.
What’s more, they allowed Lawmaker Park to attend the VIP stand for the opening ceremony.
But on the following day at the opening ceremony, North Korea blocked him from attending.
They once again showed the true nature of the North Korean regime.
Pyongyang sent a clear signal that it is determined to use whatever means it has to attack the GNP, or even worse, to perturb all of South Korean society.
In addition to the fraudulent behaviour of North Korea, the situation aggravates because the South Korean authorities for the celebration could not produce a forceful objection to Pyongyang’s violation of the agreement.
The South Korean representative to the celebration ceremony has always said that the celebration of the June 15 inter-Korean summit of 2000 has contributed to the national cooperation of the two Koreas.
One should ask, then, if the celebration this year, which shattered inter-Korean agreements and highlighted only the political propaganda of North Korea, also contributes to so-called national cooperation.
None of the previous seven celebrations of the 2000 inter-Korean summit has ever contributed to the improvement of the inter-Korean relationship.
Instead, it has caused domestic conflicts within South Korea, such as triggering fierce confrontion among South Korean authorities for the celebration regarding the exclusion of GNP members.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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