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July 15, 2008
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Three days after a South Korean tourist’s death at Mount Kumgang in North Korea, lawmakers in Seoul raised angry voices to urge Pyongyang to cooperate with a joint investigation of the incident and to meet with officials from the South. It remains unlikely that Pyongyang will respond amid escalating animosity between the two nations. The GNP also had sharp words for the Blue House and other government agencies for mishandling the incident, an unusual move for the ruling party. “The Blue House aides reported the accident to the president nearly two hours after they were notified of the news [by the Unification Ministry],” said Gong Sung-jin, a member of the party’s supreme council. “I cannot help asking if their crisis management system is working properly.” News of the death, which took place around 5 a.m. and was reported to the Unification Ministry at 11:40 a.m., reached President Lee Myung-bak at 1:30 p.m. when he was about to leave for the National Assembly to deliver a speech. Since the speech emphasized the importance of inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation and revealed Lee’s desire to resume talks with Pyongyang, several aides discussed possibly removing the part about the North from the speech. But they eventually decided to go ahead with the original draft, according to Blue House spokesman Lee Dong-kwan. Gong said he disagrees with the decision not to mention the shooting. “I think public sentiment will not accept that such an important issue went unmentioned,” he said. Meanwhile, GNP floor leader Hong Joon-pyo suggested an inter-Korean legislators’ meeting in his speech to the National Assembly yesterday. “I’d like legislative leaders of the two Koreas to convene in the same place and genuinely discuss issues including establishing peace, inter-Korean economic cooperation, food shortages and humanitarian issues,” Hong said. Hong also sought to address the shooting death of the tourist in Mount Kumgang. “The government should do its best to fully investigate the matter and to establish measures to prevent such things from reoccurring,” he said. “We urge North Korea to actively cooperate with our request.” Inter-Korean relations have soured since Lee, well known for his hard-line stance on the North, took office in February. Since then, both official and behind-the-scenes communication channels between the two Koreas have been frozen, officials say. “The government is unable to set up either official or unofficial communication channels even when such significant issues take place,” said DP party spokesman Choi Jae-sung. Meanwhile, Yoon Man-joon, president of Hyundai Asan, extended his stay in Mount Kumgang to continue consultations with North Korean counterparts over the shooting. He was initially scheduled to return around 5 p.m. yesterday. By Jung Ha-won Staff Reporter [hawon@joongang.co.kr] |
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