Lee raised aid-for-nukes with the North at funeral
Published: 02 Sep. 2009, 02:59
President Lee Myung-bak recently told North Korean officials that his North Korean policy differs from that of his predecessors and that he is prepared to aid the North Korean economy if it gives up its nuclear weapons, a source told the JoongAng Ilbo.
According to a high-ranking government source, on Aug. 23 Lee emphasized the differences to the North Korean delegation dispatched to the funeral of the late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung last month. The source added that Lee referred directly to the Kim and Roh Moo-hyun administrations, which maintained an engagement policy with Pyongyang from 1998 to 2008, and to the governments of Chun Doo Hwan, Roh Tae-woo and Kim Young-sam, who mostly ran a hard-line policy on North Korea from 1981 to 1998.
The source revealed that Lee made an offer to help North Korea’s economic development “as long as it abandoned its nuclear weapons.” The source also said that Lee urged North Korea to change in line with the rest of the world. “President Lee said if North Korea shows willingness to change, then Seoul would help,” the source said. “He asked the delegation to deliver his message to Kim Jong-il.”
The source also confirmed that the North Koreans told Lee that the four South Korean fishermen who at the time were in detention north of the border “would be released at a date of President Lee’s choice.” Lee only asked that the fishermen be treated well in accordance with the international law, the source added.
The fishermen, who were captured on July 30 after crossing the east coast maritime border, were sent home last Saturday.
During a meeting earlier in August, Kim Jong-il informed Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun that he had already ordered the military to return the detained men. A South Korean official said the president probably didn’t want to appear as if he were pleading for the men’s release when the four fishermen had already been scheduled to come home.
Meanwhile, the four men have told South Korean investigators that their ship wasn’t equipped with a satellite navigation system and that they inadvertently crossed the maritime border.
According to the Sokcho Coast Guard in Gangwon Province, their boat, the Yeonan, sailed without the navigation device and misread the route. Sokcho authorities questioned the fishermen for three days starting last Saturday, the day they were released from their month-long detention. When the boat was captured by the North Korean Coast Guard on July 30, South Korean authorities originally said the boat’s navigation system had malfunctioned.
The Sokcho Coast Guard also said the South Koreans were questioned for up to an hour each day by North Korean investigators from Aug. 1 to 19. The Coast Guard added that the fishermen denied they had intentionally veered north of the maritime border and admitted they had made mistakes. They also told Sokcho investigators that they didn’t experience any physical or verbal abuse from the North Koreans and that they received three meals plus snacks each day.
The four were said to be in good health and were sent home yesterday.
By Namkoong Wook, Yoo Jee-ho [[email protected]]
According to a high-ranking government source, on Aug. 23 Lee emphasized the differences to the North Korean delegation dispatched to the funeral of the late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung last month. The source added that Lee referred directly to the Kim and Roh Moo-hyun administrations, which maintained an engagement policy with Pyongyang from 1998 to 2008, and to the governments of Chun Doo Hwan, Roh Tae-woo and Kim Young-sam, who mostly ran a hard-line policy on North Korea from 1981 to 1998.
The source revealed that Lee made an offer to help North Korea’s economic development “as long as it abandoned its nuclear weapons.” The source also said that Lee urged North Korea to change in line with the rest of the world. “President Lee said if North Korea shows willingness to change, then Seoul would help,” the source said. “He asked the delegation to deliver his message to Kim Jong-il.”
The source also confirmed that the North Koreans told Lee that the four South Korean fishermen who at the time were in detention north of the border “would be released at a date of President Lee’s choice.” Lee only asked that the fishermen be treated well in accordance with the international law, the source added.
The fishermen, who were captured on July 30 after crossing the east coast maritime border, were sent home last Saturday.
During a meeting earlier in August, Kim Jong-il informed Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun that he had already ordered the military to return the detained men. A South Korean official said the president probably didn’t want to appear as if he were pleading for the men’s release when the four fishermen had already been scheduled to come home.
Meanwhile, the four men have told South Korean investigators that their ship wasn’t equipped with a satellite navigation system and that they inadvertently crossed the maritime border.
According to the Sokcho Coast Guard in Gangwon Province, their boat, the Yeonan, sailed without the navigation device and misread the route. Sokcho authorities questioned the fishermen for three days starting last Saturday, the day they were released from their month-long detention. When the boat was captured by the North Korean Coast Guard on July 30, South Korean authorities originally said the boat’s navigation system had malfunctioned.
The Sokcho Coast Guard also said the South Koreans were questioned for up to an hour each day by North Korean investigators from Aug. 1 to 19. The Coast Guard added that the fishermen denied they had intentionally veered north of the maritime border and admitted they had made mistakes. They also told Sokcho investigators that they didn’t experience any physical or verbal abuse from the North Koreans and that they received three meals plus snacks each day.
The four were said to be in good health and were sent home yesterday.
By Namkoong Wook, Yoo Jee-ho [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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