The Ministry of Unification revealed today that North Korea sent a further three communications to the Ministry today, calling for the resumption of Mt. Geumgang tourism, a working-level meeting on the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the normalization of the North-South Economic Cooperation Council Office.
Specifically, the North Korean Tourist Site Development Bureau sent one to the Ministry in which it suggested a meeting in Kaesong on February 11th to discuss the resumption of Mt. Geumgang tours.
In a second, the Guidance Bureau for Developing Central Special Economic Zone proposed a working-level meeting related to the business of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, this time in Kaesong on February 9th.
Finally, the North-South Economic Cooperation Council Office sent one urging the South to return the activities of the office to normal as soon as possible, expressing their sorrow that South Korean workers in the office did not return to their desks today, as the North Koreans did.
The Ministry stated yesterday that even if North Korean staff were to return to the Economic Cooperation Council Office today as they claimed, it would not send anyone there, because “The Economic Cooperation Council Office is an office for the delivery of documents between both sides, engage in inter-Korean economic cooperation or give advices to enterprises. However, according to the May 24th Measures, inter-Korean economic cooperation has been suspended, so there are no issues for the office to deals with in practice.”
Having carried out its unilateral plan to restart the business of the North-South Economic Cooperation Council Office today, there remain two outstanding North Korean communications which were sent on the 10th, one suggesting a preparatory inter-Korean meeting in Kaesong on the 27th of this month, sent by the North Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, and one calling for an inter-Korean Red Cross meeting on February 1st in Munsan, South Korea, sent by the Chosun Red Cross Society.
“North Korea’s proposals for negotiations will continue for the time being, since the North has nothing to lose by making them, regardless of whether our government accepts them,” Choi Jin Wook of the Center for South-North Korean Cooperation Studies of the Korea Institute for National Unification told The Daily NK this afternoon.
“By remaining ambiguous on the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong Island, North Korea hopes to pressure our government into coming out to the negotiating table,” Choi added.
