Though abductee, counterfeiting subjects on agenda with Pyongyang;
nonproliferation still not an option
Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok declared on May 3, “The Korean government is opposed to every attempt to change the North Korean regime,” saying, “When the six-party talks resume, we will able to get a hold on resolving counterfeit money and human rights issues.”
Minister Lee told a forum held at Kwanhun Club, “If the U.S. raised the human rights and financial issues to change the North Korean regime - their views may be different from those of Korea - but I don’t think so.” Minister Minister Lee said, “The six-party talks, fake money and human rights problems are not parallel,” adding, “As the six-party talks are most important of all, if [former president] Kim Dae-jung can play a significant role, I can hope for nothing better than that.”
Asked whether the U.S. policy toward North Korea’s nuclear program is changing from “scrapping” to “nonproliferation,” Minister Lee, on a premise that both Korea and the U.S. don’t accept North Korea’s nuclear development, replied, “If the U.S. policy changes to nonproliferation, we can’t agree. To dismantle the North Korean nuclear program is for our national interest and our goal,” he stressed.
Minister Lee’s remarks can be interpreted that he is opposed to a conservative inclination in the U.S. which has tried to solve North Korea’s nuclear issues in the frame of nonproliferation, while at the same time approaching the North Korean problem in the wider lens of regime change.
In the meantime, regarding the issue of abductees and South Korean prisoners of war, Minister Lee explained, “From now on, they won’t be dealt with as agenda points of Red Cross talks [alone], as South and North Korea authorities will discuss them,” indicating a plan to form a separate conference. Asked whether he would meet kidnap victim Megumi Yokota’s father if he visits Korea, the minister answered, “I have no such a plan and I don’t think it necessary.” In relation to defector Seo Jae-seok’s allegation that he was oppressed by the South Korean government after he fled from North Korea, he refuted, “As he is a citizen of South Korea, Seo’s exile is nonsense and it is not true.” In response to former president Kim Dae Jung's expressed desire to travel to the North by train in a visit planned for June, the minister said, “President Kim wanted to visit North Korea using a Gyeongeui Line train, he, however, doesn’t regard it as an absolute condition of visiting North Korea." Yi Yong-in, yyi@hani.co.kr