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Norks want talks with South Korea
 SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA First, North Korea warned of war. Now North and South Korea are planning their first talks in more than a year.South Korea on Sunday accepted North Koreas request for dialogue about the future of the Kaesong industrial complex, just inside North Korea. Seoul hopes to cool off tensions that have been rising steadily since North Koreas launch of a long-range Taepodong-2 missile on April 5. The two Koreas agreed to talk Tuesday only after more saber rattling by North Korea. North Korea said South Korea would be considered to have issued a declaration of war if Seoul joined the US-backed Proliferation Security Initiative. North Korea A North Korean military spokesman Saturday used harsh language about the dangers of PSI, saying the group of traitors led by South Koreas President Lee Myung Bak should never forget that Seoul is 30 miles south of the border with the North. South Koreas unification ministry called that implied threat lamentable, but the government decided to put off joining PSI until after Tuesdays meeting. Foreign ministry officials have said the government had already decided to join the PSI, but there were signs of second thoughts. The ostensible reason for Tuesdays talks is the future of the Kaesong industrial complex, where about 100 South Korean companies have factories employing some 40,000 North Koreans. South Korea is demanding to see a South Korean worker whom North Korean authorities detained recently for bad-mouthing the communist system to a North Korean, believed to be a waitress in a snack bar. Its not clear yet whether North Korea will use that case as a lever against Seouls decision to join the PSI.
Posted by: Steve White 2009-04-20 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=268019 |