Unification minister warns against additional sanctions on N. Korea

South Korea's top official on North Korean affairs on Thursday warned against efforts to impose additional economic sanctions against the communist North for its recent missile tests, saying it would be "inappropriate" to resolve the missile crisis only through pressure.

"North Korea's refusal to hold dialogue with the international community is clearly wrong," Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok said in a regular press briefing.

"Nevertheless, I believe any (international) moves to resolve this issue only through pressure and sanctions are not appropriate," he asserted.

The remarks are in line with Seoul's earlier stance that a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Pyongyang for its July 5 missile launches does not "demand or ask for" additional sanctions by U.N. members.

Seoul claims the resolution only prohibits other U.N. members from engaging in missile-related dealings with North Korea, and the resolution must be "strictly" interpreted and applied.

"I again point out that we must resolve this issue with patience and through dialogue, although it will be very difficult," the minister said.

The South Korean government has suspended its North-bound humanitarian aid, which include rice and fertilizer, prompting the communist regime to call off reunions between North and South Korean families separated since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

The head of the North's Red Cross society claimed in a letter to his South Korean counterpart Wednesday that Seoul's suspension of humanitarian aid was only to please Washington and Tokyo, thus it can no longer discuss or hold other humanitarian projects with the South.

Lee regretted that Pyongyang has suspended the Red Cross-sponsored reunions, but said his government's decision had nothing to do with Washington or Tokyo.

"Our government's decision to suspend shipments of rice and additional fertilizer aid was not to join (international) efforts to impose economic sanctions on the North." The reason the government decided to do so, he said, "was because the North aggravated the situation without considering our position or concerns."

The unification minister had said the country may resume its shipments of rice and fertilizer aid to the North when it begins to see "an exit" from the missile crisis.

He said the signs of an exit may emerge when the communist state decides to return to international negotiations over its nuclear arms program, but also said the end of the North Korean boycott would not be the only condition.

"The simplest (the most visible) sign of an exit would be resumption of the six-party talks. But that is only a suggestion.

It is difficult to say whether (an exit) would come only with the resumption of the six-party talks," he said.

One of the possible ways to resolve the missile crisis was believed to be for the country's former President Kim Dae-jung to make his scheduled visit to Pyongyang for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

The unification minister, however, said, stressing it was his personal opinion, that it would be undesirable for the former president to visit the communist state until a way of exiting the crisis emerges.

"Speaking only for myself, we are at a time when opinions of North Korea and the international community are showing the largest discrepancy. This is the time when the confrontation (between the two) is at its sharpest," Lee said.

"I wonder if it would be appropriate (for the former president) to visit North Korea at a time like this," said Lee, who is facing opposition calls to step down for a rupture in recent inter-Korean talks, during which he led a five-member delegation.

The former South Korean president, who held the first-ever inter-Korean summit with the North's reclusive leader in Pyongyang in 2000, was scheduled to take a second trip to the communist state earlier in the year.

The trip has been delayed, once at his request and again in June due to apparent opposition from the North, until later in the year. Dates for the visit have yet to be set.

North Korea has been staying away from the nuclear disarmament talks since November, citing what it claims to be a hostile U.S. policy to isolate and topple its regime.

The talks are also attended by the United States, Japan, China, Russia and South Korea.

Seoul, July 20 (Yonhap News)