Seoul suspended its humanitarian aid for the impoverished North after Pyongyang launched seven mid- and long-range missiles on July 5, despite repeated opposition and warnings from the South and its allies. South Korea's point man on North Korea, Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok, said in an earlier press briefing that North Korea's decision to halt the humanitarian project was regrettable, but that the suspension of aid was not intended to be a sanction or to put pressure on the North. The decision, according to Lee, was based on Seoul's "own judgement" that the North has seriously undermined security and peace on the Korean Peninsula by test-firing the missiles despite Seoul's concerns. The U.N. Security Council on Saturday adopted a resolution that condemned the North's missile launches while prohibiting missile-related dealings with the Stalinist state. Lee said the U.N. resolution must be interpreted "strictly," a repeat of his opposition against imposing other economic sanctions on the North. Currently, 150 South Korean workers are working at the North's mountain resort to build the 13-story reunion facility, according to Yang. "We are moving toward pulling the workers out," he said. The divided Koreas have held 14 rounds of the Red Cross-sponsored reunions between separated families since the historic inter-Korean summit in 2000. More than 90,000 people from the South alone still remain divided from their loved ones on the other side of the heavily fortified inter-Korean border, according to the ministry. The Koreas officially remain in a state of war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended only with a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. Seoul, July 20 (Yonhap News)
