*** INTER-KOREAN RELATIONS

Two Koreas Agree to Conduct Field Survey on Mount Paekdu

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South and North Korea reached an agreement on April 12 to make an on-site survey of Mount Paekdu in the middle of June after holding an expert-led forum next month on its potential volcanic activity.

   The forum will be held in Pyongyang or another "convenient location," the Unification Ministry in Seoul said in a statement. Details of the joint activities will be worked out in follow-up consultations.

   The agreement was made during the second round of talks between geologists from both sides held at the North Korean border city of Kaesong to discuss ways to deal with possible volcanic eruption of Mount Paekdu, the highest mountain on the Korean Peninsula that sits on the North's border with China.

   The South and North Korean delegations finally reached the agreements after a marathon meeting that lasted more than eight hours from 11:15 a.m.

   The two sides held the first meeting of its kind on March 29 in the South Korean border city of Munsan at the request of the North amid rising concerns over natural disasters in the wake of a massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

   Before departing for Kaesong, Yoo In-chang, a geologist leading the South Korean delegation, expressed hope in a meeting with reporters that the upcoming discussions would lead to "a deeper understanding" of volcanic activities at the mountain, as the first meeting had only confirmed the need for such joint research.

   Back in the South after the talks, Yoo told reporters in Munsan that during the talks North Korean experts mentioned the frequent occurrence of seismic activities at Mount Paekdu.

   They failed to reveal concrete evidence of seismic phenomena, but said they will hand over related data to South Korean experts before holding the next round of volcano-related talks, Yoo said.

   But both Koreas are believed to have waged a war-of-nerves during the talks on procedural matters. In its official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report, the North claimed that South Korean side made an absurd assertion about "mode of access," "principle" and "a phased plan" while acknowledging the necessity of the joint research into the volcano on Mount Paekdu.

   "It made an absurd assertion that sixth months are required for a preliminary study and more than two years for a full-dress study and it is necessary, therefore, to hold an academic symposium at the next phase, the KCNA said. "It repeatedly insisted that the north side should pass data on the indications of the volcano on Mount Paektu, to begin with."

   The North insisted that the South side wasted a lot of time and was finally compelled to sign the draft agreement put forth by the North side.

   The series of meetings over the mountain comes after colonel-level military talks between the Koreas in February failed to ease military tensions, which have deepened since the North bombarded a western South Korean island last November. Two marines and two civilians were killed in the attack.

   Seoul has discounted the political significance of the talks on the volcano, providing minimum logistics support in contrast with the North, which has included Cabinet officials among its representatives.

   The talks between the two sides come amid diplomatic efforts to jump-start the stalled six-party negotiations designed to denuclearize North Korea through aid and other incentives.

   China and the United States, two key members of the negotiations, have called on the Koreas to improve their ties first to pave the way for the resumption of the talks, which also group Russia and Japan.

   The mountain is highly symbolic for the people of both countries. Pyongyang dubs it as the birthplace of its "omnipotent" leader, Kim Jong-il, while the 2,744-meter-high peak is mentioned in the national anthem of the South.

   Mount Paekdu has been dormant since its last eruption in 1903, but experts have warned that it may still have an active core, citing topographical signs and satellite images. The concerns further rose after a magnitude-7.3 earthquake hit northeastern China in 2002. Some even argue North Korea's nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009 have stimulated the core.

  
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S. Korea's School Guidelines Slam N.K's Dismal Human Rights Record

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korea on April 13 denounced North Korea's dismal human rights record and its apparent moves for another hereditary power succession in new guidelines for unification education for students.

   The guidelines released by the Unification Ministry accused the North of holding more than 150,000 people in political prison camps and executing many residents, including political prisoners and defectors' families, without due legal process. No details on public executions were given.

   It also said inmates are languishing in poor conditions and are subject to frequent torture. More than 20,000 North Koreans have defected to the South to avoid chronic hunger and political oppression since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire.

   The alleged human rights abuses are not new, but the publication of guidelines come as South Korea's ruling Grand National Party pushes to pass through a bill designed to help improve North Korea's human rights.

   North Korea has denied the accusations on its alleged rights abuses, calling them a U.S.-led attempt to topple its regime.

   The guidelines also lashed out at North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's move to extend his family dynasty into a third generation. Kim took over the country with 24 million people after his father, the North's founder Kim Il-sung, died in 1994.

   Kim Jong-il named his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Worker's Party and a four-star general last year for what could be another hereditary power succession.

   "The third-generation power succession is a regressive behavior that is unprecedented in the political history of the modern world," said the ministry's Education Center for Unification.

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