|
Hyundai Asan says it will assist in determining if it reacted properly
July 19, 2008
|
|
| Seoul said yesterday that it may stop part of its economic aid to Pyongyang and halt the current tourism program at Kaesong unless Pyongyang cooperates with an investigation of the shooting death of Park Wang-ja. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, in his first meeting with National Security Council advisers, also decided to fully review Hyundai Asan’s safety measures for South Korean tourists and its handling of last week’s fatal incident. Park, 53, was shot to death after she entered a restricted military zone controlled by North Korean soldiers while on a vacation near Mount Kumgang. Yesterday’s meeting with Lee’s top advisers came at a delicate time. Not only does Lee face fallout from Park’s killing, there is also a firestorm over Japan’s new claim that the ownership of the Dokdo Islets is disputed. After the three-hour meeting, several senior government officials indicated the South Korean government will delay the planned delivery of office and telecommunications equipment to the North. Seoul was scheduled to send fiber optic cable, worth about 3.1 billion won ($3.1 million), to help build telecommunication connections between the two Koreas’ military posts near the border. It was also preparing to provide construction materials and other office equipment, worth about 4.1 billion won, for a visiting area near the Mount Kumgang resort for reunions of family members separated by the Korean War. “An agreement based on discussions between the two Koreas should precede the resumption of the tourism program to Mount Kumgang,” Lee said during the meeting, according to Blue House spokesman Lee Dong-kwan. “We also need a government control tower that can take immediate, systematic and extensive action when such a situation occurs.” Lee and the senior advisers also decided that, to better protect South Koreans, government officials must reside full time in North Korean areas where South Koreans visit or live. The NSC, a top advisory panel for the president in matters of foreign policy and national security, is chaired by the foreign minister. Principal members include the ministers of unification and defense, and the chief of the National Intelligence Agency. Kim Sook, South Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator for the six-party talks and Blue House spokesman Lee also attended yesterday’s session. Meanwhile, Hyundai Asan, which operates the tourism program for South Koreans visiting the North, is facing questions over its handling of the aftermath of Park’s shooting. After hearing the NSC decision when he came back from a trip to Kaesong yesterday to check the project’s safety management system, Hyundai Asan President Yoon Man-joon said, “If we have made mistakes, we will take full responsibility. Hyundai Asan will cooperate with government investigators.” By Choi Sang-yeon JoongAng Ilbo [hawon@joongang.co.kr] |
|
