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NORTH KOREA THIS WEEK NO. 480 (December 27, 2007)
*** NEWS IN BRIEF (Part 2)
Pyongyang wants inter-Korean engagement to continue under Seoul's next administration
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- A North Korean official said on Dec. 23 that his country wants South Korea's engagement policy with the communist state to continue under the administration of conservative President-elect Lee Myung-bak.
Kwon Ho-ung, a North Korean senior councilor, said he hopes that a change of government in the South will not sidetrack improving inter-Korean relations, according to South Korean officials who met him in the North's border city of Kaesong.
"How can the general trend of inter-Korean cooperation be changed due to the election of a new president?" officials quoted Kwon as saying.
As of Dec. 26, Pyongyang had not issued an official reaction to the election of Lee Myung-bak, whose main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) has been opposed to Seoul's policy toward Pyongyang.
Despite his party's stance, Lee has often said he would make efforts to help North Korea bolster its economy if the impoverished country abandons its nuclear ambitions.
Lee has also claimed he is not against criticizing Pyongyang's human rights abuses. Under the liberal administration of incumbent President Roh Moo-hyun, South Korea abstained last month on a U.N. resolution on human rights in North Korea, citing the "special status of inter-Korean relations."
Pyongyang has pledged to dismantle all of its nuclear programs by the end of the year in accordance with an international agreement in exchange for energy aid and removal from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.
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N. Korea again denies uranium program during ranking U.S. official's visit
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea again denied running any uranium enrichment program (UEP) during a recent visit of the director of the Korea Desk at the U.S. State Department, diplomatic sources in Seoul said on Dec. 23.
Sung Kim traveled to Seoul after visiting North Korea from Dec. 19-21 to discuss the communist state's declaration of its nuclear programs.
According to the sources, North Korean officials repeatedly denied the UEP-related suspicion raised by the U.S. government while meeting with Kim in Pyongyang.
"North Korea remains unchanged in its denial of the existence of a UEP program. There have been few changes as far as the North's nuclear program declaration is concerned," said a source.
The North has acknowledged that it imported 140 tons of high-strength aluminum tubes from Russia, but insisted that they had nothing to do with a UEP.
The latest denial came after the U.S. confronted North Korea earlier this month over uranium traces detected in aluminum tube parts it obtained from Pyongyang. The North also denied having a UEP at that time.
The North began disabling its sole operating nuclear reactor and two other plutonium-producing facilities at Yongbyon in November. But Pyongyang has yet to submit a list of its nuclear programs amid disputes over the long-suspected UEP, which led to the outbreak of the nuclear crisis five years ago.
(END)
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